Skip to main content

Full text of "Proceedings of the Senate and Assembly of the state of New York, in relation to the death of Horatio Seymour, held at the Capitol, April 14, 1886"

See other formats 


^»MJI>: 


aass_L4L5_ 


Book. 


0'  /  /  /^  /7^-  '^2'-' '/  //  ^  ^ ''' 


%n  ijtflcMtijiiam. 


||:0t:n:ti0    ^^xittuowt:. 


"  (i5nln  tbc  Httions  of  the  jnst 
SmtU  etottt  Hiib  blossom  in  tht   i)ust." 


PROCEEDINGS 


SENATE  AND  ASSEMBLY 


^tatc  of  ^ciu  %ov% 

M 

IN    KELATION   Tu   THE    DEATH   OF 

HORATIO    SEYMOUR, 

HBLU   AT    THE 

Capitol,  April  14,  1886. 


ALBANY: 

WEKD,    PARSONS    AND    COMPANY. 
1886. 

\_, 


I^fflislativr  ^^'orffiUnfl.'i'. 


nil. si  ilibliiiguishcfl  citizen.  For  ii\cr  half  a  rcnlury  lie  has 
la-en  proniinent  in  the  affairs  of  our  State,  having  been  three 
times  a  member  of  the  Legislatnre,  once  Speaker  of  the  Asseni- 
lilv,  Ma_\or  of  the  city  of  I'tica,  I'resiilential  Klector  and  twin; 
its  Governor.  In  addition  to  these  lionors  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  people,  he  has  acceptably  served  upon  several  import- 
ant commissions  appointed  by  the  K.xecutive,  and  in  iSfiS  he 
was  the  candidate  of  a  great  party  for  the  ]>residency  of  the 
I'nited  States,  and  received  therefor  the  electoral  vote  of  this 
his  nati\'e  .State. 

Dunn;;;  Ills  long  career,  he  lias  always  discharged  the  duties 
of  llic  high  trusts  conimilted  to  him  with  conspicuous  fidelity, 
most  signal  ability,  and  conscientious  devotion  to  the  public 
good.  As  Chief  E.\ecuti\-e  of  the  State  during  a  critical  period 
in  its  liistory.  he  \yas  earnest  in  liis  defense  of  tlie  Union  and 
loyal  to  the  cause  of  the  Constitution,  and  at  the  same  lime, 
was  bold  and  fearless  in  the  protection  of  e\-ery  just  right  of 
the  hnnible  citizen,  and  zealous  in  the  maintenance  of  the  sacred 
lionor  and  credit  of  the  State. 

The  (^hristi.iii  patriot,  the  friend  oi  honest  goveinmenf,  the 
defender  of  ci\il  lilierly,  the  conscientious  citizen,  has  passed 
awa)'. 

It  is  fitting  that  the  close  of  such  a  life  should  receive  more 
than  ordinary  recognition,  and  I  commend  to  your  consideralion 
such  proper  e.vpression  of  the  ])nb]ic  sorrow  and  such  legisla- 
tive action  concerning  his  funeral  as  in  \our  judgment   may  bi; 

deemed  aiipropriate. 

DAVID   R  HILL. 

Oil   motion   of    Mr.  Pitts  the.   followiiio-  resolu- 
tions w(;re   iinanimoiisly  adopted  : 

The  Go\'ernor  having  communicated  to  the  Senate  by  appro- 
priate message  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  e.\-Go\'ernor 


li^ffli.slativc  ^'voccfrtings. 


HORATIO  SEYMOUR,  who  was  one  of  the  most  eminent 
anH  distinguished  citizens  of  this  great  Commonwealth,  and  in 
order  that  proper  respect  may  be  paid  to  his  memory,  and  that 
we  maj'  give  expression  to  the  esteem  and  regard  in  which  he 
was  held  by  the  people  of  his  native  State, 

J\esok'ed,  That  the  Senate  attend  his  funeral. 

Resok't-d,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  five  members  of  this  body  to  confer  with  a  committee 
to  be  appointed  by  the  Assembl)',  and  arrange  for  memorial 
exercises  to  be  held  at  some  day  to  be  fixed  by  such  com- 
mittee in  honor  of  the  \-irtues,  services  and  memory  of  the 
honored  dead. 

Rt-soh'fd,  That  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn  until  Wednesday 
February  17,  at  11  o'clock,  a.  m. 

IN  SENATE : 

Ferruary  17,  18S6. 

The  President  appointed  as  a  committee  to 
confer  with  a  like  committee  of  the  Assembly 
in  reference  to  memorial  services  of  ex-Gov- 
ernor Seymour,  Messrs.  Pitts,  Pierce,  Cogge- 
.siiALL,  Traphagen  and   Bakager. 

IN  ASSEMBLY: 

February  15,  1SS6. 

The  above  message  from  the  Governor,  by 
the  hands  of  his  private  secretary,  was  received 
and  read  by  the  Clerk. 


g;ifgi.slatii'c  gi;otfediH(),si. 


()ii  motion  of  Mr.  Ei<\vi\,  the  following  reso- 
lutions were  unanimously  adopted  : 

R,:wh;d,  That  a  conimittee,  consisting  of  fifteen  members  of 
this  House,  be  appointed  by  the  Speaker  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  ex-Governor  HORATIO  SEViMOUR  ;  that  such  committee 
be  requested  to  prepare  resolutions  expressive  of  the  senti- 
ments of  this  House  concerninrj  flie  hfe,  eliaracter,  and  pubhc 
services  of  this  eminent  and  distinguished  citizen,  and  arrange 
for  such  memorial  exercises  as  they  may  deem  proper,  and  that 
they  report  tlieir  action  to  this  House  fcjr  its  consideration  at 
its  next  session. 

Kf.tokvif,  Tliat,  out  of  respect  to  tlie  memory  of  HORATIO 
SEYMOI'R,  tliis  Hiiuse  do  now  ailjourn  until  Wednesday 
morning  at  i  i  A.  M. 

Mr.  Speaker  appointed  as  such  committee  the 
following:  Messrs.  Ekwix,  Sheeh.w,  Hall, 
Grkkxe,  White,  Cutler,  Ev.ws,  Longley. 
Lyox,  Bre\v.ster,  Curtis,  Chase,  Titus,  Hacjan, 
Manville. 

in  assembly  : 

March  4,   1886. 

The  joint  committee  appointed  to  prepare  suit- 
able resolutions  expressive  of  the  sentiments  of 
the  House  relative  to  the  death  of  HORATIO 
SEYMOUT^,  reported  in  favor  of  the  adoption 
of  the  following  resolutions  which  were  unani- 
mousK'  ad()i)ted. 


|jr!iwl!<t>i'  jProrfftlings. 


/iVWrvv/,  That  by  the  death  of  HORATIO  SEYMOUR,  the 
State  has  lost  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens,  wisest  counsel- 
ors and  truest  friends;  he  was  studious  in  habit,  wise  in  counsel, 
generous  in  action,  pure  in  thought,  gentle  in  spirit,  courteous 
ill  manner  ;  by  his  learning,  eloquence,  statesmanship,  patriotic 
devotion  to  duty  and  to  the  best  interest  of  the  State,  Nation 
and  his  fellow-men,  he  had  won  the  confidence,  admiration  and 
love  of  all;  he  was  respected,  honored,  cherished  ;  his  life  is  an 
inspiring  example  and  a  priceless  legacy;  three  times  honored 
with  a  seat  in  the  Assembly  by  his  neighbors  and  friends,  and 
by  the  Assembly  chosen  its  Speaker,  twice  chosen  bj'  the  peo- 
]ile  of  the  State  their  Governor,  and  nominated  by  a  great 
party  —  the  party  of  his  choice  —  as  its  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency, your  committee  has  deemed  it  fitting  that  the  occasion 
of  his  death  should  be  marked  by  a  more  formal  recognition  of 
our  appreciation  of  his  worth  than  the  presentation  of  resolu- 
tions expressive  of  our  sorrow  at  his  death;  therefore, 

Resohied,  That  there  be  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Senate  and 
Assembly  in  the  Assembly  chamber;  that  the  Governor  be 
invited  to  preside,  and  that  the  ex-Governors  of  this  State,  and 
the  State  officers  be  invited  to  attend,  and  that  Hon,  Erastus 
Brooks  be  invited  to  deliver  a  memorial  address,  and  that  such 
services  be  held  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  April  next  at 
eight  o'clock. 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  the 
joint  committee  reported  that  they  had  tendered 
to  Hon.  Erastus  Brooks  an  invitation  to  deliver 
the  memorial  address,  and  that  he  had  accepted 
the  invitation. 


S^cgisilatirf  gvocfctliiigs. 


The  clay  finally  fixed  upon  for  the  memorial 
proceedings  was  Wednesday  the  14th  day  of 
April  1 886,  the  exercises  to  be  held  in  the  Assem- 
bly chamber. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  designated,  the  Leg- 
islature assembled  in  the  Assembly  chamber, 
where  the  following  exercises  took  place,  Go\'- 
ernor  David    B.  Hilt.,  presiding. 

Prayer  rv  the  Rt.  Rev.   \Vm.  Crosweei,  Doaxe  : 

Almighty  God  with  whom  do  live  the  spirits  of  those  who 
dL-|iart  hence  in  tlie  Lord  ;  and  witii  whom  the  souls  of  the 
f.iithfnl  alter  they  are  delivered  from  the  hnrden  of  the  flesh 
are  in  joy  and  felicity;  we  give  Thee  heartv  thanks  for  the 
good  examples  of  all  those,  Thy  servants  wdio  having  finished 
tlieir  course  in  faith  do  now  rest  from  their  labors.  And  we 
beseech  Thee  that  we,  with  all  those  wlio  are  departed  in  the 
true  faith  of  Thv  PToly  Name,  may  have  one  perfect  consumma- 
tion and  b'iss  in  Thy  eternal  and  everlasting  glory;  through 
Jesus  Christ  (jur  Lord.     Amex. 

The  Goverx(tr's  .Vddress  : 

FelUnv  Citi'zi-ns  : 

The  Sage  of  Deerfield  has  departed  I  Honored  by  the  people 
during  his  long  and  eventful  life,  he  passes  away  amid  the  tears 
and  homage  of  a  sorrowing  country.  He  was  a  Christian 
gentleman  of  the  old  school;  a  statesman  without  a  st.iin  upon 
his  record;  a  partisan  who  loved  his  party,  but  lo\-ed  his 
country  more;  a  conscientious  citizen,  who  was  noble  and  pure 

10 


^rgislativr  i'vocccilinsis. 


in  all  tlie  relations  of  private  life.  Elequent  worrls  of  eulogy 
cannot  arid  to  his  greatness.  Tongue  and  pen  are  inadequate 
to  e.\])ress  our  appreciation  of  his  virtues  and  our  e.\alted 
respect  for  his  honored  memory.  Distinguished  for  half  a  centuiy 
as  the  foremost  citizen  of  New  York,  his  fame  was  as  wide  as 
the  country  itself.  There  is  not  a  hamlet  in  the  land  so  obscure 
that  has  not  heard  of  the  name  and  fame  of  Horatio  Seymour. 
Although  never  serx'ing  in  the  national  councils  or  holding  anv 
federal  position  wliate\er,  his  history  is  everywhere  as  familiar 
as  household  words.  The  triumphs  which  he  won  were  in  State 
affairs,  yet,  he  would  ha\-e  achieved  greatness  anywhere;  he 
would  have  graced  a  seat  in  congress  ;  he  would  have  adorned 
the  United  States  senate  ;  he  would  lia\-e  honored  the  presi- 
dency itself. 

I  need  not  recite  to  you,  his  friends  and  neighbors,  the 
details  of  his  public  life.  You  i'Cnow  them  better  than  I  do. 
He  was  honored  by  the  people  more  than  usually  falls  to  the 
lot  of  men,  yet  fortune  did  not  always  smile  upon  him.  He  was 
thrice  defeated  for  the  governorship  and  once  for  the  presi- 
dencv.  But  defeat  did  not  dismay  or  sour  him  ;  he  was  the 
same  affable,  patriotic,  cultivated  gentleman.  He  lo^'ally 
shared  in  the  defeats  of  his  party,  and  accepted  the  results 
without  a  nuirnuir.  It  is  said  that  Henry  Clay  was  the  idol  of 
the  old  Whig  party,  but,  surely,  no  statesman  ever  had  the 
esteem  and  love  of  his  party,  or  possessed  their  confidence  to  a 
greater  extent  or  degree  than  did  Horatio  Seymour  that  of  the 
Democratic  party.  His  name  was  always  a  tower  of  strength. 
It  thrilled  every  Democratic  heart,  and  had  the  respect  of  every 
honorable  opponent.  That  he  did  not  always  succeed  was 
never  a  fault  of  his  own  —  it  was  the  fortune  of  politics,  which 
is  always  uncertain,  and  the  accident  of  the  times  in  which  he 
lived. 

There  was  no  position  so  high  which  he  could  not  honoraliK- 
and  creditablv  fill  —  there  was  none  so  humble  that  he  deemed 


Xrdislativr  J'rorcfding.s. 


it  beneath  his  dignity  to  accept.  Whether  as  gov-erndr  of  the 
State  or  as  pathmaster  of  his  town,  he  exhibited  the  same 
conscientious  regard  for  the  public  weal  tliat  characterized  his 
whole  life.  Relieved  of  the  cares  of  public  station  he  did  not 
withdraw  himself  from  the  people,  or  attempt  to  evade  the 
responsibilities  of  tlie  citizen.  lie  took  great  interest  in  the 
afl'airs  of  the  National  Dairyman's  assf)ciation.  and  served  as  its 
president.  The  agricultural  interests  of  the  State  were  always 
dear  to  him,  and  probably  no  public  man  ever  delivered  so 
man\-  agricultural  addresses  to  the  farmers  of  the  country  as 
he.  Possessing  a  kind  heart  and  a  disposition  which  sympa- 
thized with  the  poor,  the  afflicted  and  the  unfortunate,  he 
freipiently  \isited  the  si<-k.  the  oppressed,  and  those  in  prison. 
How  well  do  we  remember  that  remarkable  address  made  by 
him  several  years  ago  to  the  jirisoners  at  Auburn  prison.  How 
eloquently  he  urged  them  to  become  better  men;  how  affection- 
ately he  sjiiike  of  their  families  and  friends  who  still  had  faith 
in  them;  how  vividl\-  he  depicted  their  ill-spent  li\es,  and  the 
unfortunate  results  of  e\il-doing:  how  keenlv  he  showed  his 
fatherly  interest  in  their  welfare;  liow  tenderU'  he  poured  forth 
words  of  encouragement  and  hope,  until  old  men  wept  and 
young  men  cheered  for  I'oy.  His  visit  was  like  a  sweet  oasis  in 
the  desert  of  their  existence;  a  beacon  light  in  the  ocean  of 
their  dark  despaii.  What  a  contrast  was  presented!  A  states- 
man talking  lo   felons  within   prison  walls. 

In  public  or  private  station,  in  success  or  defeat,  in  youth  or 
in  old  age,  he  was  always  the  earnest  and  true  friend  of  the 
unfortunate.  In  his  desire  to  do  good  to  his  fellow  nu/n  he 
became  a  member  of  the  jirison  association  of  the  L'nited 
States,  and  ser\ed  as  its  president. 

It  was,  as  chief  executive  of  this  State,  during  the  critical 
period  of  our  civil  war,  that  his  great  abilities  and  his  go(jd 
statesmanship  were  displayed.  In  the  political  canvass  of  1862 
he  urged  "a  more  \-igorous  prosecution  of  the  war."     This  was 

ts 


g^ffliieilativc  I'lotrrdtnn.s. 


the  key-note  of  his  iiiajj^iiiticent  campaign,  and  gave  him  tlie 
victory. 

His  first  message  to  tlie  legislature,  in  1863,  annouiiced  his 
[loHcy  as  follows  :  "  At  this  moment  the  fortunes  of  our  country 
are  influenced  b\'  the  results  of  battles.  Our  armies  in  the 
field  must  be  supported  ;  all  constitutional  demands  of  the 
general  government  must  be  responded  to.  *  *  *  *  Under 
no  circumstances  can  the  division  of  the  Union  be  conceded. 
We  will  put  forth  every  exertion  of  power;  we  will  use  every 
policy  of  conciliation;  we  will  hold  out  every  inducement  to 
the  people  of  the  south  to  return  to  their  allegiance,  ccmsistent 
with  honor;  we  will  guarantee  them  every  right,  every  con- 
siderati(jn  demanded  by  the  constitution,  and  by  that  fraternal 
regard  which  must  prevail  in  a  common  country;  but  we  can 
never  voluntarily  consent  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  union  of 
these  States,  or  the  destruction  of  the  constitution." 

Such  was  his  respect  for  the  constitution  that  he  believed 
that  the  highest  evidence  (jf  loyalty  consisted  in  implicit  obedi- 
ence to  its  provisions.  The  general  government  never  made  a 
deuumd  upon  him  for  troops  to  which  he  did  not  promptlv 
respond.  He  firmly  believed  in  the  personal  liberty  of  the 
individual  citizen.  He  boldly  advocated  the  maintenance  of 
the  public  faith  and  credit  of  the  State,  and  insisted  that  the 
interest  on  the  State  debt  should  be  paid  in  the  currenc)'  of  the 
world,  especially  when  that  debt  was  held  by  persons  not 
residing  in  the  United  States.  The  legislature  had  passed  a 
resolution  declaring  a  different  policy  and.  (jn  April  23,  1S64,  he 
sent  a  special  message  to  that  body,  protesting  in  vigorous 
language  against  such  a  suicidal  proceeding.  Among  other 
things  he  said  :  "  Aside  from  the  consideration  of  interest  or 
policy,  our  duty,  in  my  judgment,  is  plain.  It  is  to  pay  the 
debts  of  the  State;  to  pay  them  in  precisely  the  mode  in  which 
they  were  promised  to  be  paid  ;  to  keep  the  honor  of  the  State 
unsullied,  and  to  this  plain  duty  we  should  be  true,  cost  what  it 

13 


legislative  yrorcr(Ung.si. 


may."  Tills  actinii  on  liis  part  was  most  Si--\-erely  ciilicised  at 
tlir  time.  To-tlay  it  stands  fortli  as  tlu-  biii;hest  jewel  in  bis 
diadem. 

He  believed  in  bonest  sjjoverninent.  Having-  no  sympathy 
with  coriii|itiiin  ol  any  kind,  in  1871  be  consented  t"  the  use  of 
his  name  as  a  candidate  for  nuMnber  of  assend)lv  in  om-  of  the 
ilislricts  in  Xew  ^'oik  city,  in  order  to  em|>li.isize  bis  party's 
repndiation  of  the  men  ulio  were  robbing  tliat  city.  In  all  the 
subsequent  efforts  for  ret'orni  he  was  tlie  trusterl  counselor  of 
those  engaged  in  their  prosecution. 

I  need  not  speak  to  \'on  further  <jI  Go\-ernor  Seymour's 
(pialities  as  a  man.  Yon  knew  him  in  health  and  in  sickness,  in 
sornjw  and  in  jo\-,  in  his  early  youth  and  in  his  ripe  old  age,  and 
in  all  his  business  associations.  Von  knew  that  his  word  was 
as  sacred  as  his  bond. 

I  can  appropriatelv  say  of  him  as  Rdward  Ev-erett  said  of 
D.uiiel  Webster.  "Do  yon  ask  me  if  he  had  faults.'  1 
answer,  he  was  a  man.  *  *  *  pj,.  i,;,,]  some  of 
the  faults  of  .1  lofty  spirit,  a  genial  temperann-nt,  an  open 
hand  and  a  warm  heart;  he  had  none  of  the  faults  of  a  gro. 
\-elling,  mean  and  malignant  n.dure;  he  had  especiailv  the 
'hist  intirndtv  of  noble  niiiifls,'  and  hafl.  no  doubt,  raisi-d  an 
aspiring  eye  to  the  highest  object  of  political  andiition.  Rut 
lie  did  it  in  the  honest  pride  of  a  capacity  eipial  to  the  st.i- 
tion.  .ind  with  a  consci<nisness  that  he  should  reflect  back 
the  honor  which  it  conferred.  He  might  s.iy,  with  Burke, 
th.it  •  he  had  no  arts  but  honest  aits;'  and  if  he  sought  the 
higliest  honors  of  the  State,  he  did  it  1)\-  .111  unsurpassed  talent, 
l.diorious  service  and   patriotic   de\-otion   to  the   public  good." 

His  nianl)'  presence,  his  eloipienf  fimguc,  his  clarion  \'oice, 
will  be  beard  and  seen  no  more.  ^'ou.  his  neighbors,  have  lost 
a  kind  and  generous  friend;  your  county  its  most  famous 
citizen  ;  the  State   its    lax'urite  son  ;  the  n.ition  one  of  its  purest 


^ffli.slativc  I'vorfftUuns. 


statesmen.  The  free  canals  of  the  State  have  lost  their  ablest 
and  most  influential  advocate. 

Friends  of  personal  liberty,  your  boldest  defender  is  gone. 
The  |irinciples  which  he  inculcated  will  live,  but  their  most 
brilliant  e.xponent  has  fallen  asleep,  wearied  and  worn  out  with 
labor  in   your  service. 

Friends  of  constitutional  government,  your  greatest  oratoi 
has  ceased  t<j  speak.  The  lierv  eye  that  kindled  your  enthusi- 
asm, the  graceful  gestuie  that  aroused  yr)ur  admiration,  the 
voice  that  swayed  your  emotions,  the  torrent  of  eloquent 
words  that  con\'inced  \-our  reason,  are  gone  from  your  midst 
forever. 

He  lies  buried  in  the  soil  of  the  State  he  loved  so  well,  and 
which  he  so  highly  honored.  New  York  may  well  be  proud  of 
■such  a  son. 

1  am  grateful  that  I  am  permitted  to  be  present  upon  this  sad 
occasion  to  pay  this  brief  tribute  of  respect  to  the  "  statesman, 
the  patriot,  the  fellow  citizen,  the  neighbor,  the  friend." 

Letters  Read. 

Fki.im  President  Cleveland  : 

Executive  Man.sion,  ) 

Wa.shington,  D.  C,  .■//;-/■/ 6,  iSS6.      ^ 

Hon.  Edmund  L.  Pitts,  Cluunnaii . 

Dear  Sir — I  have  received  an  invitation  on  behalf  of  the 
Senate  and  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York  to  attend  the 
exercises  in  honcjr  of  the  memory  of  the  late  Horatio  Sevmour 
on  the  evening  of  the  14th  inst.  I  regret  exceedingly  that 
official  labors  will  prevent  my  acceptance  of  the  invitation  to  be 
present  on  this  interesting  occasion.  The  people  of  the  State 
of  New  York  may  well  especially  mourn  the  loss  of  such  a 
citizen,  whose  influence  and  example  were  a  constant  benedic- 
ts 


legislative  J'rorffrtingrj. 


(ion.  Every  successor  of  his  in  the  chief  miisjistracy  of  tlie 
State  will  tenderl)'  rcvi\'e  liis  ineinoty  while  lie  acl<nowlcdges 
tliat  he  only  acconiplislierl  (lie  hrst  lesults  hy  ;ulheriii,<;  In  their 
distiiiguishcfi  predecessor's  niethods  in  oflicial  life  and  adopting 
his  patriotic  and  thoughtful  regard  for  everv  puhlic  interest. 

Yours  \'erv  trulv, 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

From  E.\-r;nVKRXoR  S.^mukl  J.  Tii.dkn*  : 

^■|l^'KKRs.  N.  v.,  April  13. 

Hon.  Edmund  L.  Pit  is.,  Chainiian  Sciuih-  C<>iiniu'lt,r,  and  Hon. 
Geokgk  Z.  Erwin,  of  Asscmb/y  Comiitillci-.  Albany.  X.    W: 

1  nuich  regret  that  1  cannot  he  present  at  the  e.\crcises 
in  honor  of  the  memory  of  the  Lite  lIoR.vrio  SliV.Mot  K, 
to  he  held  at  the  Assenihly  Chamhei  on  the  evening  of 
A|)ril  14.  I  j<jin,  nevertheless,  in  the  hi.image  which  the 
ollicial  hodies  of  the  State,  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
whole    people,   pay   to    tb.it    illustrious    citizen    and    statesman. 

SA.Ml'EL  J.  TILDEN. 

Fru.m   Ex-CiiVKR.XDk  Li:i  ITS  Rohinson  : 

El.MlK.\,   March    2y,    1SS6. 

Gknti.f.men  —  I  have  received  your  kind  in\-ilatiori  to  he 
present  at  the  joint  meeting  of  the  Senate  and  .Xssemlily 
on  the  14th  of  .\pril  ne.\t.  to  he  addressed  h\-  the  Hijn. 
Er.istus  Rrooks,  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  the  late  HoR.\rii) 
SeV.MdUR.  1  regret  lliat  circumstances,  which  1  need  not 
state,  will  prevent  my  being  present  on  that  very  interest- 
ing  occasion. 

Yours  very  respectfully. 

L.    ROBINSON, 


legislative  i'vorrrrtinns. 


From   Ex-Govek.\uu   Hamilton    Fish: 

251    East   Skventeenth   Strekt,  ) 
New  Y'ork.,  March    26,    1886.       ( 

Gentlemen  —  I  have  llie  Iiuikjt  to  acknowledge  your  letter 
of  24th  inst.,  convej'ing  an  in\-itation  to  be  present  at  the 
exercises  on  the  14th  April  next,  m  honor  of  the  memory 
of  the  late  Horatio  Seymour.  My  sincere  respect  and 
esteem  of  Gov.  Seymour,  with  whom  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance and  friendship  from  eaily  manhood  had  existed,  prompt 
a  cordial  acceptance  of  the  invitation  to  the  services  ordered 
by  the  Legislature  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  one  who 
had  rendered  such  important  services,  and  had  shed  such 
lustre   upon   the    State. 

With    great    respect,    j'our   <jhedient    ser\ant. 

HAMILTON    FISH. 


From    E.x-Governor  John   T.   Hoffman: 

New    York,    March    26,    1S86. 

Dear  Sir  —  I  hope  and  expect  to  be  able  to  attend  the 
exercises  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  the  late  Horatio  Sey- 
,MOUR   on    the    14th    inst. 

Very    respectfully, 

JOHN   T.   HOFFMAN. 


From    Ex-Governor   Myron    H.   Ci.ark: 

Canandaicua.    April  6,    18S6 

Gentlemen  —  I  have  the  honor  of  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  your  invitation  to  attend  the  meeting  in  honoi 
of    the    memorv  of  the    late    HoRATio    SEYMOUR,    to    be    held 


^cgisilativc  i'vorrnUng':.. 


;it  tlie  Asscinblv  Cli.itiibcr    on    tlic    evening   of   the    I4tli   iiist. 
In    reply,    I    regret    tn    be    oblige'l   to    say   tlint    it    will    not    be 
practicable    for    ine   to    be    in    Albany  at    that    time. 
VcPi'    respertfullv    vonrs, 

MYRON    II.    CLARK. 


From   Ex-G(.)Vf.rn()r   Aldn/o   B.   CdRNEi.i.: 

Nr,\v    York,   .//;-//   12.    iSSfi. 

Gentlemen — Youi'  conrteons  imitation  on  behalf  of  the 
Legislatnre  to  attend  the  memorial  >er\ices  in  honor  of  Gov- 
ernoi  Seymour  is  gratefully  apjireciated,  and  if  is  a  cause 
of  sincere  regret  that  circumstances  beyond  my  c<^ntroI  will 
prevent  me  from  being  ])resent.  Few  men  have  been  enabled 
to  render  the  Stale  more  \'aluable  services  than  (Joxernor 
Seymour,    and    the     Legislature    does   well     in     honoring     his 

memory. 

It  was  his  foitune  to  be  called  to  direct  the  St.ite  gov- 
ernment at  tunes  of  great  jiublic  ]ieril,  and  lie  was  often 
the  object  of  severe  ])artisan  criticism,  but  his  bitterest  ene- 
mies ne\'er  questioned  his  personal  inteijrity  nor  his  patri- 
otic  devotion    to    the    welfare    of    the    Stale. 

Fortunalelv,  he  was  permitted  to  outlive  partisan  hatred, 
and  to  realize,  in  some  measure,  the  Cordial  appreciation  of 
his  public  services  bv  liberal-minded  citizens.  He  was  called 
to  his  rest  full  of  vears  and  full  of  honors,  and  a  faithlul 
review  of  his  political  and  oliicial  career  cannot  fail  to  be 
both  instructive  and  useful  to  those  who  have  become  famil- 
iar   with    public    affairs    in    recent  \ears. 

Yours    most    respectfully. 

AL(;NZ()    H.    C'ORXELL. 


18 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS 


^ilip,  ifj.iraitfq  tiiih  ^pcruitcs 


Horatio  Seymour, 

HY 

ERA5TUS   BROOKS. 


"Their  lives  are  best  who  study  most  to  become  as  good  as  possible,  and  theirs  the  most  en- 
joyable who  feel  that  they  are  constantly  progressing  in  virtue.  ...  I  have  ever  aimed  at  thn 
improvement  of  those  who  have  associated  with  me."  — Socrates,  fit-ar  the  close  of  kin  life. 


JItc  3^ddvcs$, 


Mr.  President,  Senators,  Members  of  Assembly, 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

The  first  thought  as  we  meet  this  evening  to 
commemorate  the  Hfe  and  services  of  Horatio 
Seymour,  is  the  thanks  due  from  me  to  the  Senate 
and  Assembly  in  the  choice  named  in  their  joint 
resoUition.  Whether  due  to  old  and  long  service 
in  the  Legislature  and  State,  to  my  knowledge  of 
the  man  in  whose  behalf  I  am  to  speak,  or  to  any 
cause  whatever,  I  tender  my  sincere  thanks  to  your 
joint  committee  for  their  suggestion  of  my  name, 
and  to  the  members  of  the  two  Houses  for  the 
approval  of  their  choice. 

The  words  I  have  written  are  historical  and  per- 
sonal —  of  the  State  largely,  and  of  the  man  as 
part  of  the  State  —  and  the  necessary  abridgment 
of  what  in  justice  is  due  to  this  place,  and  this 
occasion,  has  been  the  real  task  in  my  labor  of 
love. 

Horatio  Seymour  was  born  at  Pompey  Hill, 
Onondaga  county,  May  31,  iSio;  lived  at  Deer- 
field  from  1S67  to  the   time   of  his   death;  was  at 

21 


©he  ^lUlrc.ss. 


tlie  Oxford  Academy  at  the  a;^i'  of  ten  )-ears  ;  at 
Holjart  Collcj^re,  Geneva,  lor  four  \ears  ;  then  at 
the  MiHtarv  Academy  in  Mlddletown,  Conn.,  with 
the  (jovernor  of  Connecticut,  of  the  same-  name; 
and  blood  ;  a  stutlent  at  law  at  Utica  under  the 
rare  teachiiiL;'  of  Greene  C.  lironson  and  Samuel 
Beardsley.  This  young  man,  upon  heiny  admitteel 
to  practice  at  the  bar,  at  once  ])ecani(;  distin- 
guished for  aijility,  delicacy,  and  re-tmement.  It 
was  these  (ju.dities  that  won  the  heart  of  Mary 
Bleecker,  of  All)an\-,  a  name  associated  with  the- 
most  acco?nplished  families  of  the  State. 

'I'he  tliath  of  Mrs.  Se\-mour,  twent)'  da\-s  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  is  one  of  those  e\ents 
of  life  anil  eleath  which  in  the  order  of  an  all-wise 
Providence  it  would  be  unbecoming  in  us  to  (jues- 
tion.  \Vi-  pause  just  here  to  sa\',  that  for  half  a 
century  and  more,  united  in  their  li\es,  in  the  time 
of  death  they  were  not  long  separated.  The  spirit 
of  the  manly  man  had  not  long  to  wait  the  coming 
of  th(;  loving  wife.  They  were  buried  from  the 
same  church,  placed  in  the  same  grave,  followed 
by  the  same  mourners,  and  witli  old  age,  infirmity, 
the  tired  mind,  the  wear\-  body,  the  sickness  imto 
death,  who  of  us,  feeling  tlu:  failing  and  fainting 
seen  in  the  last  shadows  of  life  wouUl  care  to  live 
on  ?      rh(;se  two  at  least  were   ready  for  the  sum- 


©he  ^rttltrsis. 


nions.  With  them  to  die  on  earth  was  to  reach 
immortahty  in  Heaven.  Death,  too,  was  welcome 
for  the  double  reason  that  the  spirit  was  free  and 
there  was  no  more  bodily  jiain.  They  had  each 
long  enjoyed  what  we  all  desire  and  most  need  in 
our  homes  —  domestic  repose  within,  and  without 
what  belongs  to  cultivation,  growth,  beauty,  and 
contentment. 

And  so  witli  .111  uiif.ilteiiiifT  tru'^t  they  went 
To  that  mysterious  reahn  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death.     *     *     * 
Lil<e  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him  and  lies  duun  to  pleasant  dreams. 

Utica  and  Deerfield  were  for  both  husband  and 
wife  the  old-school  home,  the  old-school  life,  and 
the  old-school  manners  ;  and  these  were  in  practice 
social  grace,  sincere  e.\pressions  of  opinion,  and  a 
just  toleration  of  differences  in  faith  or  party. 

Governor  Sev.molik's  ancestors  were  distin- 
guished for  four  generations  either  in  the  primi- 
tive history  of  the  country  or  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  His  grandfather,  Moses  .Seymour, 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  war  for  independ- 
ence, and  especially  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 
His  uncle,  of  the  same  name,  was  for  twelve  years 
a  Senator  in  Congress  from  the  State  of  Ver- 
mont ;    and   of  the   sons  of  Major   .Seymour,   two 

23 


iThr  address. 


were  Higli  Sheriffs,  one  .1  Imancier  and  Ijank 
president,  and  another  a  State  Representative  and 
Senator,  and  a  Canal  Commissioner  in  New  York. 
A  cousin  represented  the  State  of  Connecticut  in 
Congress,  and  on  the  liench  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Another  cousin  was  Governor  of  the  State  and 
United  States  Minister  to  Russia. 

Among  liis  maternal  ancestry  was  the  niect;  of 
Colonel  LetUartl,  in  command  when  .\rnold,  in 
1781,  directing  the  Tories  and  Hritish,  ilestroyed 
the  town  of  Croton  \)y  fire.  Ledyard  was  killed 
after  surrendering  his  sword  in  person  to  the  Tory 
miscreant,  Major  Broomfield,  from  the  colony  of 
New  Jerse}'. 

Governor  Si;vmiii  k  was  also  one  of  the  Cincin- 
nati, and  gained  this  distinction  as  a  descendant 
of  Colonel  h'orman.  Henry  Seymour  was  also  a 
colleague  of  L)e  Witt  Clinton,  Canal  Commis- 
sioner, Member  of  the  Council  of  Apjiointment, 
Representative,  Senator,  and  President  of  the 
I'armers'  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  all  honorable 
positions  and  all  most  honorably  filled.  The  set- 
tlers of  Onondaga  in  that  day  were  ready  to  mort- 
iratre  their  farms  to  endow  the  academy  where 
.Skvmuur  received  his  first  education.  Time  will 
not  permit  the  record  of  his  student  life  at  Oxford, 
Hobart  Colleyfe,  nor  elsewhere.    The  distint£uished 


r 


@he  gkddreiSjsi. 


sculptor,  Palmer,  of  Albany ;  Elliot,  the  artist ; 
and  the  Sedgewicks,  Litchfields,  Marshes,  Masons 
and  Jeromes  were  at  the  same  academy. 

In  the  Military  School  in  Connecticut  Captain 
Partridge  was  his  teacher,  and  the  disciplinarian 
of  himself  and  of  his  cousin,  the  Governor  of 
Connecticut. 

Governor  Sevmour's  Death. 

I  pass  rapidly  from  ancestry,  l)irth,  and  student 
life  to  the  one  and  last  great  event  which  follows 
in  the  order  of  nature  —  the  summons  and  pres- 
ence of  death.  On  the  evening  of  February  12, 
1886,  as  the  clock  struck  ten,  Horatio  Seymour 
expired  at  the  residence  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Roscoe 
Conkling,  in  the  city  of  Utica.  The  last  stroke 
of  the  clock  told  the  moment  when  the  pulse, 
which  had  long  been  feeble,  ceased  to  beat. 

In  his  last  illness  he  enjoyed  what  we  all  covet 
in  the  approaching  hours  of  dissolution,  freedom 
from  bodily  pain,  and  our  friend  entered  into  rest 
as  gently  as  the  setting  sun  passes  from  human 
observation.  For  six  hours  and  more  he  had  been 
failing  in  strength,  and  as  the  end  came,  or  very 
near  it,  he  was  in  the  presence,  and  on  earth  for 
the  last  time,  of  his  lontr  invalid  and  sorrowing- 
wife.     The  time  had  come  when  the  period  allotted 


the  3^d(Uf,s.«(. 


Id  human  existence  had  heen  fulfilled.  What  is 
called  cerebral  eftusion  —  the  usual  process  or 
cause  of  decay  and  death  in  old  age  —  gave  signs 
of  the  rapid  change  ;  luit  let  nie  sa\'  just  here, 
that  old  as  Govern(_)r  SI•;^•M(ll  k  was,  tleath  was 
hastened  by  one  of  the  commcju  infirmities  of  (jur 
restless  American  character.  The  first  notable 
simimons  came  from  a  siuistroke  in  the  summer 
of  1S70,  when  he  was  in  service  as  the  path-mas- 
ter of  his  own  town. 

If  he  had  ever  coveted  public;  office  in  town, 
count\'.  State  or  nation,  it  was  this  humble  place 
where;  there  was  to  him  no  compctnsation  other 
than  the  advantage  of  goocl  roads  for  all  who  tra\'- 
elled  upon  them.  Ami  those  of  you  who  live  in 
the  countrN-  know  what  good  roads  mean  alike  for 
man  and  lieast.  The  path-master  at  Deerfield 
secured  through  his  office  one  of  the  economies 
and  comforts  of  life.  The  oaths  registered  on 
earth,  I  will  not  say  in  Heaven,  t)ver  bad  roads,  it 
not  as  manv  as  the  stars  in  numlier,  must,  I  fancx', 
be  at  least  as  many  as  the  ol)structi<)ns  vipon  the 
common  highwax'.  dovernor  Si;x'M(iri<,  as  a  pains- 
taking, patient  roadmaster,  received  not  cursing 
but  blessing  for  his  faithful  work  at  home. 

It  is,  as  we  know,  some  of  the  little  things  of 
domestic   life,    belonging  to   honu:    and    neighbor- 


®Ue  gkddiffsis;. 


liood,  personal  life  and  citizenship,  that  often 
reveal  to  ns  what  real  manhood  is  and  means.  In 
all  these  relations  Hhkaik)  Seymour  was  con- 
spicuous as  neighlior,  citizen,  friend  and  man.  1 
recall  two  of  many  reminiscences  at  his  funeral  : 
On  either  side  of  the  casket  were  formed  sixt)' 
orphan  o-irls,  with  four  .Sisters  of  Charity  and  the 
same  number  of  bo)'s  from  .St.  \'incent's  Protec- 
torate. The  domestics  of  his  farm  and  home  col- 
lecting around  his  bier  to  manifest  their  love  for 
the  man,  placed  upon  his  cotiin  sprigs  of  pine  antl 
hemlock,  gathered  from  the  trees  which  had  stood 
as  sentinels  from  manhood  to  old  age.  These 
were  all  that  had  a  green  life  in  the  cold  gray 
winter  of  1886,  and  many  of  these  sentinels  of 
nature,  planted  b)-  his  own  hamls,  survive  the  life 
of  him  who  gave  them  plant  and  watched  their 
growth  and  beauty.  The)'  still  live,  but  not  more 
than  the  memory  of  the  unselfish  man  whose  high 
estate  and  noble  example  will  remain  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  the  thoughtful  people  of  the  com- 
monwealth. 

One  fact  more  of  the  remote  causes  of  Governor 
Seymour's  death.  The  eml  came,  it  is  true,  of  old 
age  —  if  to  be  born  May  31,  18 10,  and  to  be  dead 
February  12th,  1886,  really  means  old  age.  But 
old  age,  as  we  call  it,  is  not  to   be  counted  alone 

27 


®hf  %Mxt^s. 


by  the  years  we  live,  Imt  hy  the  work  we  perform, 
(lovernor  Skymoir  liastened  his  own  end  by  the 
sunstroke  I  have  named,  though  it  came  nearly 
ten  years  before  his  death.  It  gave  him  fre- 
quent })ain  in  the  heart,  vertigo  in  the  head,  and 
at  times  an  unsteady  motion  upon  his  feet.  In 
the  canvass  for  (lOvernor  Tiklen  he  had  worked 
witli  great  (hUgence.  In  i8So  he  suffered  from 
cono-estion  of  the  huii'S  antl  acute  inllammation, 
and  escaped  ih-atli  onl\-  after  the  most  careful 
nursing  and  the  wisest  medical  attendance.  Plac- 
ing very  much  less  \'alue  upon  his  own  life  than 
was  placed  upon  it  by  his  friends,  he  was  per- 
suaded to  take  part  in  the  canvass  for  General 
Hancock,  and  spoke  for  him  at  Utica,  Canajoharie, 
and  finallv,  after  a  most  urgent  appeal,  on  one  of 
the  cold,  stormy  and  trying  November  days,  at 
W'atertown.  He  was  warned  not  to  t'o  b\-  his 
l)hvsician,  but  he  said:  "I  must  go;  for  I  cannot 
abandon  in_\'  friends  in  their  hoiu'  of  need,  even  if 
I  die  in  consecpience." 

This,  eentlemen,  ma\'  seem  to  you  the  evidence 
of  strong  partisanship,  and  if  \'Ou  will  (|ualif\'  this 
conclusion  by  thct  fact  that  it  was  also  tht;  evidence 
of  stronsj'  friendship,  and  strong"  dex'otion  to  the 
cause  which  he  had  adhered  to  all  his  life,  then 
the  conclusion  is  a  just  one.      lUit  let  me  add,  that, 


^Txt  gulilvrss. 


as  the  Governor  of  the  State,  as  the  presiding  of- 
ficer of  the  Assembly,  as  one  of  its  members  for 
three  years,  as  the  Mayor  of  Utica,  or  in  any  of- 
ficial position  or  private  trust,  Governor  Seymour 
never 

"To  party  gave  up 
What  was  meant  for  mankind." 

Home  and   Religious  Life. 

Governor  Seymour  added  to  these  qualities  of 
public  service  a  real  love  of  home  and  family  life. 
He  found  pleasure  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
as  revealed  to  him  in  books  and  in  the  study  of 
the  greater  volume  of  nature.  Three  hundred 
acres  of  land,  part  of  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Mo- 
liawk,  was  his  home.  He  possessed  also  a  keen 
sense  of  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  He  was  not 
only  at  home  in  the  Adirondacks,  the  woods  of 
Northern  New  York,  on  the  prairies  of  the  West, 
in  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Nebraska,  and  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  but  others  shared  with  him  in  these 
enjoyments.  His  house  was  built  more  for  com- 
fort and  space  than  for  show  or  ornament.  His 
tastes  were  simple  and  for  mental  improvement 
rather  than  for  indulgence  in  the  art  decorations 
so  common  in  our  citvlife.  As  the  chief  of  a  ereat 
part)'  he  received  as  many  blows  as  any  man  who 


oThr  '^drtrc.ss. 


(-vcr  held  ])ul)lic  utticc'.  lUit  nowhere  in  attack  or 
defence  can  vou  find  cahimny,  coarseness  of  ex- 
pression, or  bitterness  of  manner  toward  those 
with  wht)ni  he  differed.  I  think  I  may  say  in  tliis 
distinguished  presence,  and  with  an  assured  con- 
currence of  t)j)inion  from  tliose  wliose  \'Otes  origi- 
nated anil  directed  this  commemoration  of  his  life, 
character,  services  and  tlrath,  that  Hoka tk  i  .Si  \ - 
.Mill  K,  in  all  that  words  in  their  best  sense  mean, 
was  a  i)atriot,  a  statesman,  anil  a  true  Christian 
o-entlcman.  And  hx  jjatriotism  I  mean  not  only 
one  who  loves  and  faithfully  serves  his  country, 
hut  tile  patriotism  which  Lord  HolinLj-broke  most 
a|)tl\'  definetl  as  "  foumleil  in  i4reat  principles  and 
supi)orted  by  great  virtues." 

In  his  employment  of  pulilic  affairs,  changing 
but  a  single  word,  the  words  of  the  poet  apply  to 
him  : 

•■  Sl.ilrMu.iii,  VL'l  liieiul  Ici  Irutli  :  ol  soul  .sincere, 
]n  action  hiitliliii  and  in  honor  clear; 
Who  hi  like  no  promise,  served  no  private  end  ; 
Wlio  soiijrht  no  title  and  who  lost  no  friend." 

In  the  third  ([ualitvof  character  which  I  have 
assigned  to  him,  if  I  may  speak  of  the  faith  in 
which  he  believed,  and  which  was  illustrated  at 
home  and  for  many  )'ears  in  very  many  Diocesan 
Conventions    in    the    .State   and    in    the   nation,   it 


®he  '§,AAtt$s. 


rested  upon  true  grace  and  real  knowledge.  I'or 
the  State  and  for  the  people  at  large  it  meant  not 
only  good  will  among  men,  but  in  his  own  per- 
sonal life  "whatsoever  was  true,  honest,  just,  pure, 
lovely,  and  of  good  report." 

His  attachments  to  his  own  Christian  faith  came 
in  the  double  title  of  inheritance  and  his  own  free 
will.  The  office  long  held  by  his  father  as  War- 
den of  Trinit\'  Church,  in  Utica,  was  also  held  by 
himself  up  to  near  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  this  faith  his  Christian  life  was  founded  upon 
that  large  charity  which  is  neither  pretentious  nor 
censorious,  exclusive  nor  dogmatic.  His  private 
life  I  see  illustrated  in  that  grand  character  whose 
teaching  rested  not  so  much  upon  gifts,  nor  proph- 
ecies, nor  mysteries,  as  upon  that  abiding  faith 
and  hope  which  declared,  "Though  I  speak  with 
the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tink- 
ling cymbal."  In  this  thought  he  followed,  ne.xt 
to  Christ,  the  master-spirit  of  the  New  Testament. 

He  may  not  have  had  all  the  boldness  of  this 
master-spirit,  nor  his  long  suffering,  nor  his  physi- 
cal courage,  nor  intense  force  ;  but  he  united  great 
gentleness  with  great  power  and  courage  in  main- 
taining his  convictions.  In  both  faith  and  practice 
he  was  a  true  man,  and  as  near  as  our  many  human 

31 


infirmities  will  permit,  and   from  whicli  he  was  not 
exempt,  we  see  in  him 

"Tlie  tjreat  t-xaniplc  iil   ;i  hl.iinclrss  life." 

In  the  Church  as  a  layman,  as  well  as  in  the 
State  as  a  leader  and  counsellor,  he  took  no  step 
backward.  A  reverend  friend  in  all  these  years 
of  his  life  says  of  him  : 

"  In  the  councils  o(  the  Church  he  was  always 
at  home  ;  more  at  home,  1  belie\-e,  than  in  any 
political  asseml)lies  ;  and  no  la_\'man  ever  appearetl 
to  Greater  advantage  in  our  General  Conventions. 
thouiTh  he  was  too  modest  to  speak  as  often  as  Ave 
wanted  him,  ami  sometimcis,  as  I  know,  sitting  b)- 
his  side  in  the  same  delegation,  it  was  \-er)-  diffi- 
cult to  get  him  up  on  hi",  feet.  P>ut  when  he  did 
speak,  every  eye  was  fastened  on  him,  every  ear 
was  intent  not  to  lose  a  single  word,  and  every 
heart  throbbed  with  emotions  of  gratitude  for  the 
learnim''  and  wisdom  which  flowed  from  his  lips, 
j-lis  manners  were  those  of  a  shepherd  and  pastor, 
and  he  would  have  made  a  splendid  \'icar  of 
Wakefield." 

Evidence  of  Puiu.k;  Respect. 
The  Governor  of  the    State   in   suggesting  suit- 
able action  by  the   Legislature,  which  in  this  joint 


®ht  ^tlrttcSi,Si. 


meeting  is  promptly  responded  to,  reminded  the 
people  of  Governor  Seymour's  "  conspicuous  fidel- 
ity, signal  ability,  and  conscientious  devotion  to 
the  public  good."  And  your  own  just  and  gener- 
ous words  were  the  unanimous  resolve  : 

"That  in  the  death  of  Horatio  Seymour  the 
State  has  lost  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens, 
wisest  counsellors  and  truest  friends.  He  was 
studious  in  habit,  wise  in  council,  generous  in 
action,  pure  in  thought,  gentle  in  spirit,  courteous 
in  manner.  Byhis  learning,  eloquence,  statesman- 
ship, patriotic  devotion  to  duty,  and  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  State,  nation  and  his  fellow  men, 
he  had  won  the  confidence,  admiration  and  love 
of  all.  He  was  respected,  honored  and  cherished. 
His  life  is  an  inspiring  example  and  a  priceless 
legacy." 

In  this  large  assembly  of  the  officers  of  the  State, 
judicial,  and  by  election  and  selection  ;  of  Sena- 
tors and  Assemblymen,  representing  at  large  the 
people  of  the  State,  the  Commonwealth  responds 
to  this  general  voice   of  its  chosen  fellow-citizens. 

The  President  of  the  United  -States,  Governors 
of  States  in  their  official  stations,  legislators  in 
their  places  of  public  trust,  friends  without  num- 
ber, .Sisters  of  Charity,  orphans  left  to  the  care  of 

33 


®he  gnUltcssi. 


the  State  or  fri(jndly  hands,  prisoners  in  their  pris- 
on-house, all  from  the  church  to  the  [ilatform,  in 
historical  meetings  and  private  assemblies,  have 
conciirretl  in  your  words  of  j)ublic  [jraise.  And 
whv  ?  if  1  may  ask  the  question.  Simply  l)ecause 
always,  to  the  honor  of  human  nature, 

"  (iiilv  tlie  ailidiis  (_il  the  just 
Sr)icll  sweet  ;mfl  bhjssom  in  tlic  dust." 

.'\nel  ufuv  in  public  affairs  let  me  ask,  was  HoK.\ri(i 
.Sevmui'k  worthy  of  all  these  honors?  This  is  a 
(piestion  1  shall  try  to  answt'r  ;  but  first  let  me  sa)' 
that  no  devotee  of  saints  or  gods  can  have  a 
greater  dislike  than  I  have  to  what  is  called  man- 
worship.  We  worship  onl)'  God.  We  honor  emi- 
nence of  position  where  the  possessor  is  worthy 
of  the  i)lace  he  fills.  We  respect  dignity,  excel- 
lence, moral  worth,  and  purity  of  purpose  and 
life.  This  is  not  worship,  and  within  these  limits 
is  the  e.xtent  of  our  regard  for  the  man  whose  vir- 
tues the  State  he  served  loved,  and  now  commem- 
orates. To  be  equal  to  any  .station  which  he 
tilled,  or  to  which  his  friends  aspired  for  him,  was 
his  purpose  :  but  with  him  always  the  true  "  post 
of  honor  was  the  private  station."  more  than  the 
love  of  any  ])ublic  service. 

I  recall  places  almost  without   number  which  he 

34 


ii\it  ^drtvcss. 


declined  to  fill  :  once  as  a  foreicrn  ambassador 
under  President  Pierce;  once  as  United  States 
Commissioner  to  settle  the  troubles  with  Kansas  ; 
conspicuously,  and  more  than  once,  as  the  candi- 
date for  President  of  the  United  States,  as  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  and  as  Senator  in  Congress. 
Once  he  accepted  the  nomination  for  the  first  of 
these  offices,  and  led  the  forlorn  hope  in  his  own 
defeat,  and  naturally  enough  at  the  time,  with 
General  Grant  as  his  opponent.  For  nt-arly  a 
week  the  National  Convention  of  iS68,  and  1 
speak  as  one  of  its  members,  had  balloted  in  vain. 
and  only  the  name  of  Sevmuuk,  of  New  York, 
could  in  the  end  bring-  order  and  harmony  out  of 
prolonged  discord  and  confusion.  I  have  shared 
in  many  conventions  and  nominations,  but  never 
before  in  one  which  in  its  final  work  was  so  en- 
thusiastic. It  was  destiny  that  the  victorious 
soldier  of  the  war  for  the  nation  should  win  the 
field  against  the  accomplished  civilian  of  a  single 
State,  and  this  would  have  been  true  had  Gov- 
ernor .Sevmouk's  preferred  candidate,  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  received  the  nomination,  which  he  was 
quite  ready  to  accept.  Governor  Sevmouk  in  pro 
nouncing  in  the  face  of  all  the  responses  of  party 
and  people,  his  own  reluctant  consent,  said  at  the 
time  to  his  friends  in  private  that  he  had  made 

35 


®he  addrrSiS. 


tliL-  greatest  mistake  of  liis  life.  And  this,  except 
in  serving'  others,  was  tlie  end  of  Governor  Sev- 
mouk's  acceptance  of  any  political  office. 

In  this  Commonwealth  he  was  for  forty  years 
the  conspicuous  member  of  his  own  party,  and  in 
statesmanship  the  equal  ol  any  of  his  predecessors 
in  ot+ice.  In  a  lar^e  sense  he  was,  in  its  new  life, 
the  founder  of  his  party  in  the  State  ;  and  I  speak 
now  as  one  who  as  lony  as  the  old  ^Vhig■  party 
lived,  or  gave  signs  of  life,  followed  its  standard, 
and  left  it  only  when  personal  divisions  and  State 
separations  and  sectional  ambitions  and  jealousies 
seciu'ed  its  doom. 

Among  Governor  .SKv>t(>rR's  predecessors  there 
may  have  been  l)older,  craftier,  and  in  extensive 
literature  and  scholarship  more  conspicuous  men. 

The  precise  jeffersonian  example  to  which  1 
have  alluded  in  his  life  is  embodied,  first,  in  the 
faitli  that  in  all  that  really  means  the  country's 
welfare  "we  are  all  Democrats  and  we  are  all  Re- 
publicans." .Secondly,  Tliat  in  leading  principles 
—  political  or  religious  —  and  I  think  I  mav  say 
in  this  day  of  marvellous  independence  of  faith  — 
in  all  the  forms  of  what  is  called  Christian,  ag 
nostic,  theistic,  deistic,  or  positivist  faith  —  that 
"  error  of  opinion  ceases  to  be  dangerous  when 
reason  is  left  to  combat  it."      It  may  take  time  for 


3B 


the   long  battle  to  be  fought  out,  but  in  the  end 
the  right  will  prevail. 

Character,   Couracie  and  Independenxe. 

When  Governor  of  the  State  he  vetoed  a  bill 
as  extreme  as  the  first  Prohibitory  Law  of  Maine  ; 
and  his  reasons  were  that  the  act  directed  unreas- 
onable searches  of  the  dwellings  of  citizens,  de- 
prived persons  of  their  property,  forfeited  it  when 
seized,  imposed  inquisitorial  examinations,  and 
was,  in  brief,  an  unjust  and  odious  enactment. 
Through  education,  morality  and  religion  he  be- 
lieved that  temperance  must  be  secured.  This 
veto  message  prevented  his  re-election,  and  in  the 
divided  parties  of  the  time  Myron  H.  Clarke,  by 
a  plurality  of  three  hundred  and  nine  votes,  was 
made  Governor.  The  previous  defeat  came  from 
his  warm  Whio;  friend,  Governor  Hunt,  one  of  the 
truest  men  ever  in  the  State  service,  and  this  time 
it  was  effected  by  a  union  of  the  Whig  party  with 
the  anti-rent  party,  and  two  hundred  and  sixty 
votes  elected  the  Whig  candidate. 

Governor  .Sevmour  had  a  dread  of  office-seekine 
at  any  age,  and  especially  of  office-holding  in  old 
age.  He  believed,  however,  in  the  wisdom  of  a 
busy  and  useful  life  to  the  end  of  one's  full  time 
on  earth  ;  and  in  this  he  practised  all  he  preached. 

37 


iThr  3VtUlrc.s.«. 


Ill  his  last  interview  with  Ciovernor  .Marcy,  the 
hitter  saitl  to  him  as  to  a  personal  friend  :  "  I  trust 
that  I  nia\-  so  pass  the  rest  of  my  days  as  not  to 
show  an  indifference  to  the  interests  of  the  country 
and  to  the  party  that  lias  made  me  twice  a  cabinet 
minister,  a  United  States  Senator,  ("lovernor  and 
|ui1l;c,  or  to  my  friends.  After  so  much  let  me 
not  now  seem  to  turn  m\-  back  upon  the  world." 

This  problem,  so  hard  to  soke  for  so  man_\-  in 
old  age,  Providence;  soon  solved  for  our  friend's 
friend.  Lxin^^  upon  his  sofa,  with  a  book  in  his 
hand,  his  heart  ceased  to  beat.  In  ndatin^-  the 
end  of  a  very  lony  public  life,  dovernor  .Si;v\nirK 
said  :  "  When  I  see  tottering  old  men  upon  the 
brink  of  the  grave  engaged  in  an  unseemh' 
scramble  for  office,  I  am  always  reminded  of  Hol- 
l)ein's  picture  of  the  '  Dance  of  Death.'  It  shall 
never  l)e  said  of  me  that  I  took  part  in  such  a 
cotillon.  I  shall  ne\H'r  Ik;  a  figure  in  such  a  pic- 
ture." 

It  was  Martin  \^an  Buren,  wlien  at  the  head  of 
the  I'nited  .States  State  Department,  who  sug- 
gested to  Governor  Marcy  the  name  of  .Skv.mour 
for  his  Militar\-  Secretary,  and  at  once  this  service 
ripened  into  life-long  friendship.  In  the  last  in- 
terview of  Marcy  with  Skv.muuk,  the  retired  states- 


ehc  ^tldrcsis. 


man  suggested  to  his  friend  continued  work  in  the 
development  of  the  topography  of  the  State  and 
in  his  efforts  for  national  reconciliation,  for  an  un- 
broken union  of  the  States,  resting  both  upon  con- 
stitutional liberty  and  the  limitations  of  federal 
power  defined  in  the  intent,  purpose,  and  spirit  of 
the  Constitution  itself.  The  two  subjects  of  State 
Topography  and  State  History  he  blended  into 
one,  and  these  written  papers  make  him,  without 
exaggeration,  a  public  benefactor.  The  physical 
peculiarities  of  this  State  have,  and  have  had  for 
many  years,  a  large  influence  over  its  fortunes. 
In  his  own  words  they  "  are  enduring  causes  of  its 
greatness  and  power." 

These  teachings  upon  State  development  relate 
both  to  local  and  general  history,  as  on  the  Hud- 
son River,  Lake  George  and  Lake  Champlain,  ex- 
tendinof  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  bav  of  New 
York,  intersecting  at  right  angles  about  mid-way 
by  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  and  constituting  the 
great  base  lines  of  the  State.  These  lines  are 
alike  interesting  to  the  State  and  nation,  both  in 
periods  of  war  and  times  of  peace.  Disciplined 
and  savage  armies  have  passed  over  them.  Here 
in  a  narrow  and  rugged  valley  are  the  divisions 
which  separate  New  York  and  New  England  from 

39 


the  rest  of  the  nation,  lipon  ahnost  every  foot 
of  this  land  and  water  are  written  the  struggles 
for  American  independence.  They  kept  Ihir- 
goyne  and  his  army,  and  the  liritish  Clinton  and 
liis  arnn",  "  cribbed,  cabined  ami  conhned,"  so  that 
there  could  be  no  union  of  the  two  opposing 
forces,  unless  it  came,  as  attempted,  through  the 
treachery  of  Arnold,  in  jjaid-for  treason  with  the 
enemy.  Northern  New  York  more  than  Kentucky 
has  been  the  "  dark  and  blood)-  ground  of  the 
nation."  French  and  English  and  savages  were 
long  upon  this  line.  The  massacre  and  burning 
of  Schenectady,  and  the  encounters  at  Cherry 
\'alley,  the  Mohawk,  Oriskany,  Ticonderoga, 
Sackett's  Harbor,  Kingston,  Stony  Point,  I'Von- 
tignac,  Wolfe  and  Montcalm,  all  make  a  part  of 
this  history  ;  and  you  may  trace  its  close  connec- 
tion for  more  than  two  centuries  of  time  in  war 
and  peace. 

Governor  Seymour  in  his  love  of  history  fol- 
lows in  charming  words  the  canoe  of  the  early 
hunters  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Mohawk,  and 
moving  on  from  the  Mohawk,  by  a  portage  around 
the  falls  of  Niagara,  from  the  tributaries  of  Onta- 
rio to  Green  Piay,  the  I'o.x,  and  Wisconsin  on  to 
the  Mississipi)i,  and  up  the  Missouri  to  the  gorges 

40 


site  gnUlrrsi,s. 


of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  All  this  space  of  four 
thousand  miles  is  now  almost  a  common  water- 
way for  commerce,  and  only  a  single  mile  sepa- 
rates the  upper  waters  of  the  Missouri  from  the 
Columbia,  now  reached  by  rail  in  the  days  of  a 
single  week. 

In  another  direction  from  the  Mohawk  is  the 
highway  to  the  St.  Lawrence  in  one  direction,  and 
to  the  far,  far  West  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in 
another. 

St.\te  .-v.nd  Inter-St.jlTe  Commerce. 

State  and  inter-State  commerce  and  the  Erie 
Canal  were  with  Governor  Seymour  subjects  of 
intense  interest.  I  may  only  glance  at  two  or 
three  of  them.  The  chief  was  his  constant  inter- 
est in  the  water-ways  of  the  State  and  country. 
Here  he  saw  protection  to  the  people  from  the 
increasing  power  of  railroad  corporations.  He 
believed  in  nature's  rivers  and  harbors  and  water- 
sheds for  commerce,  and  when  necessary,  in  canal 
water-ways.  All  of  these  were  as  familiar  to  him 
as  the  sources  of  the  river  near  his  own  home,  and 
hence  his  little  fear  of  dangerous  encroachments 
by  railroads.  The  two  systems  were  rather  friendly 
than    hostile,  the   one    to   be  used    for  heavy  bur- 

41 


iTltf  3Kl(lrf,s,5i. 


dens,  and  the  other  for  (juicker  motion  and  lit^hter 
weight. 

It  was  geographical  position,  he  argued,  that 
long  ago  took  these  highways  from  the  PVench 
and  gave  them,  first  to  the  British,  and  from  the 
liritish  to  the  United  States.  The  Six  Tribes  in 
their  wars  and  widespread  possessions  had  used 
them  long  before.  Hannibal  and  Napoleon  won 
more,  he  said,  from  the  same  causes  than  from  an\" 
other;  and  more  than  anything  else,  it  was  the 
topography  of  the  .States  that  defeated  the  .South 
in  the  rebellion. 

In  this  .State  his  last  public  words  Ave  re  for  main- 
taining the  great  water-ways  from  the  lakes  to  the 
Hudson,  and  no  hundred  men  have  said  or  done 
so  much  in  their  behalf.  Born  in  the  wilderness, 
a  real  lover  of  rural  life,  upon  a  great  farm,  when 
he  was  a  bo\'  his  eyes  resting  in  leisure  and  retire- 
ment u[)on  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best  cul- 
tivated valleys  in  the  .State,  and  lielieving,  also,  in 
his  enthusiasm,  that  this  Mohawk  \'alley  had  the 
best  watershed  in  the  land,  as  he  saw  it  frt)m  the 
veranda  of  his  own  home,  he  was  wont  to  say 
that  the  history  of  the  continent  revolved  around 
what  he  thus  saw  before  him.  His  home  and  his 
farm  were  sources  of  constant  pleasure,  and  he 
could  talk  of  seed-time  and  harvest,  of  crops  and 


®hf  ^tlrttr,«.«. 


soil,  of  the  dairy  and  grasses,  of  wheat  and  oats, 
fertilizers  and  experiments  in  the  germination  of 
fruits  and  trees,  as  one  who  had  become  familiar 
with  the  farm  in  the  double  advantage  of  expe- 
rience and  extensive  reading. 

He  believed  also  in  a  complete  sj'stem  of  edu- 
cation, and  in  his  addresses  at  Cornell,  Madison, 
Wells  and  other  universities  and  colleges,  before 
the  people  at  large,  he  defended  this  American 
system,  as  I  may  call  it,  as  a  part,  and  the  best 
part,  of  the  general  welfare  and  common  defense 
of  the  nation. 

Our  very  great  obligations  as  a  State,  he  thought, 
were  due  to  the  Dutch  for  the  support  they  gave 
to  education  in  New  Netherlands ;  and  if  New 
^'ork  had  a  better  constitution  at  the  full  close  of 
the  Revolution,  it  was  due  to  the  fact  of  the 
schools  in  the  colony. 

One  or  two  brief  sentences  let  me  copy  from 
one  of  his  university  addresses  as  typical  of  the 
whole  man:  "When  I  see  zeal  without  knowledge, 
I  do  not  wish  to  quench  the  one  but  to  enlarge 
the  other.  I  have  been  willing  to  aid,  according 
to  my  means,  every  church  which  earnestly  held 
to  the  truth  of  its  doctrines,  although  they  were 
in  conflict  with  those  of  the  church  to  which  I  am 
attached.      ...      I  believe  in  men  who  believe 


fhr  ^(UlrcSiS. 


in  their  doctrines,  religious  or  political,  ami  who 
arc  active  and  earnest  in  their  support.  I  have 
St.  |(ihn's  abhorrence  of  those  who  are  neither  h<it 
nor  cold.  .  .  .  Diffused  power  demands  dif- 
fused education.  The  system  which  makes  all 
men  members  of  the  i^-overning  class  demands 
higher  education  than  the  mere  primar\-  elements 
of  learning.  Power  and  knowledge  given  to  the 
l)eople  make  the  element  of   Republicanism." 

One  evidence  of  Governor  Seymour's  power  in 
tlemocratic  conventions  was  at  the  time  of  a  nomi- 
nation of  a  ludge  of  the  Court  of  A|)peals.  when 
the  whole  bod)'  of  delegates  seemed  to  ilemand 
that  fudge  I  )enio,  whose  term  was  about  to  e.\pire, 
should  not  be  renominated. 

The  ludge  had  delivered  an  opinion,  considered 
at  tile  time  adverse  to  his  part)-,  in  the  use  of  gov- 
ernmental commissions,  as  in  the  organization  of 
the  New  York  Metropolitan  Police.  (iovernor 
Skvmour  dissented  from  Jndge  Denio's  opinion  as 
strongly  as  any  man  in  the  convention,  but  in  the 
midst  of  tlie  storm  against  the  Judge  and  his 
decision,  he  rose  in  his  place  and  said  :  "  I  tlesire 
to  renominate  Hirani  Denio  for  Judge  ot  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  not  because  we  approve  his 
decision  —  indeed  1  am  hostile  to  that  system  of 
commissions,  and   differ  witii    ludge    Denio    in   his 


ehf  ^^(Ulrf.sis. 


view  of  the  law  —  but  because  we  respect  his 
office,  have  confidence  in  his  motives,  and  are  will- 
ing to  accept  any  statute  legitimately  passed  and 
approved  by  the  courts.  I  desire  to  renominate 
him,  because  by  doing  so  we  will  demonstrate  the 
sincerity  of  the  Democratic  party  in  its  professions 
of  respect  for  an  independent  judiciary."  These 
words  were  simply  magical,  and  the  storm  raised 
at  first  at  once  passed  away,  leaving  the  moral  at- 
mosphere clear  and  pure  as  truth  could  make  it. 

His  Charities  and  SY^[rATHIEs. 

There  is  not  time  to  speak  at  any  length  on 
these  and  kindred  subjects.  But  it  is  proper  to 
say  that  Governor  Seymour  performed  many  times 
more  work  for  the  people  as  a  private  citizen  than 
in  his  official  service.  He  believed  that  happy  and 
healthy  minds  were  made  by  steady  and  healthy 
work.  In  intelligent  culture  he  found  constant 
pleasure,  and  the  little  world  within  him  saw 
enough  in  the  great  world  without  to  provide  ob- 
jects of  endless  study  and  interest  for  all  mankind. 

His  sympathies  for  men  of  toil,  for  teachers  of 
art,  in  skilful  work  and  in  the  schools  were  bound- 
less. In  schools  and  colleges,  he  said,  instructors 
gave  a  thousand-fold  more  to  others  than  they  re- 
ceived themselves;  but  it  was  also  true  that  men 


®hc  gidtlrr.'Sjs. 


of  l)usincss  and  lal)or  arc  profitable  teachers  of 
nic-n  of  It-arning.  He  found  literally  in  his  obser- 
vations and  studies,  "good  in  everything."  He 
believed  with  Seneca  that  "  the  things  we  fear  are 
often  better  than  those  we  pray  for."  He  often 
(juoted  the  very  old-time  lines  of  Sir  Thomas 
AVyatt,  where  "flowers  fresh  and  fair  of  hue"  are 
seen  in  the  midst  of 

'■  VfiKinious  tliorns  tlicit  are  so  sharp  and  keen  *  *  * 
Since  evt-ry  woe  is  joined  with   sonic  wealth." 

I  wish  there  was  time  to  quote,  in  his  own 
words,  one  thought  from  his  ]'\>urth  of  Jul)-  Ad- 
dress to  the  Prisoners  of  Aulnnm  in  1S79,  where 
in  trying  to  drown  in  Lethean  waters  certain  acts 
of  his  own  life  which  caused  him  regret,  mistakes 
and  sorrows,  how  by  thought  and  purpose  he 
turned  all  these  into  virtue  and  wisdom,  just  as 
the  alchemist  turns  base  metal  into  gold,  making 
each  error  of  the  past  the  seeds  of  right  until  each 
seed  blooms  into  fragrant  llowers.  The  hearts  of 
many  of  the  ])risoners  were  touched  as  b)'  a  coal 
of  lire  from  the  altar  of  God.  At  least  there  was 
sorrow  for  the  crimes  of  the  past.  The  orator 
knew  tliat  in  the  worst  human  nature  it  is  possible 
at  times  to  make  the  heart  of  stone  become  a 
heart  of  llcsh. 


46 


Ehf  3nldrr;5si. 


l: 


As  the  first  President  of  the  National  Prison 
Association,  he  spoke  at  the  convention  in  Balti- 
more many  years  ago,  and  the  wisdom  of  his 
policy,  and  of  his  humanit)-  and  sagacity,  has  been 
cmonstrateil  wherever  his  system  of  prison  gov- 
ernment has  been  tried.  In  the  prisons,  he  ar- 
gued, that  as  a  rule  those  who  are  sent  there  were 
men  who  run  with  the  currents  of  society  and  out- 
run them.  They  are  moved  and  directed,  in  a 
great  degree,  by  the  impulses  around  them  ;  their 
characters  are  formed  by  the  civilization  in  which 
they  move.  They  are,  in  many  respects,  the  rep- 
resentative men  of  a  country.  It  is  a  hard  thing 
to  draw  an  indictment  against  a  criminal  which  is 
not,  in  some  respects,  an  indictment  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  has  lived.  After  listening  to 
thousands  of  prayers  for  pardon,  he  added  :  I  can 
hardly  recall  a  case  where  I  did  not  feel  that  I 
might  have  fallen  as  my  fellow-man  has  done,  if  I 
had  been  subjected  to  the  same  demoralizing  in- 
fluences and  pressed  by  the  same  temptations." 
And  again  :  "  Prisons  are  moral  hosjsitals, 
where  moral  diseases  are  not  only  cared  for,  but 
science  learns  the  moral  laws  of  life.  The  laws  of 
moral  and  physical  life  are  a  thousand  times  more 
important  to  the  multitudes  of  the  world  at  large 


than    the\'  are  to  the   few   inmates   who  langfuish 

47 


®hc  S^ddrcsiS!. 


within  the  gloomy  walls  of  a  hospital  or  of  a 
prison."  "  He  who  masters  the  diagnosis  of  crime 
gains  the  key  to  the  mysteries  of  our  nature  and 
to  the  secret  sources  of  social  demoralization." 
"  True  statesmanshij),  like  true  religion,  begins 
with  visiting  the  prisoners  and  helping  the  poor." 

An   Oi.D-sniooi,   Statksman. 

In  the  man)'  recent  tleaths  of  eminent  public 
men  in  civil  life,  a  majority  have  belonged  to  what 
is  known  as  the  old  school. 

(_"jo\'ern(jr  Skvmoiir  in  his  culture  and  manners, 
principles  antl  opinions,  belonged  to  this  class. 
He  had  seen  old  things  pass  away  and  man\- 
things  become  new.  At  the  age  of  seventy-six  the 
old-school  men  he  had  seen  servt:  and  die  were  in 
number  as  man}'  as  the  visible  planets.  He  be- 
held toward  the  end  of  his  own  life  the  men  of  the 
new  school  come  into  power,  New  PLngland 
dwarfed  in  strength,  and  his  own  New  York  and 
the  Middle  States  left  in  the  rear  of  the  grown 
and  growing  Western  States.  The  centre  of  \>o\>- 
ulation  had  been  changed  in  his  time  almost  from 
Maryland  to  just  beyond  Cincinnati. 

He  had  seen  the  Constitution,  framed  ninety- 
nine  years  ago,  amended,  slavery  abolished,  and 
the  country  at  large  moving  on  toward  si.\t\'  mil- 
lion of  people,  and  his  own  State  nearing  the  six 


She  ^(Irttcss. 


million  which  will  Ije  its  population  at  the  close  of 
the  year  1899. 

In  the  order  of  Providence  it  was  time  to  die. 
But  the  old  L;ood  nature  and  good  old  humor  were 
ver)-  dear  to  Governor  Skvmour.  There  are 
some  things  in  the  past  which  cannot  be  improved 
in  the  present  by  change  alone.  One  of  these  is 
the  spirit  of  the  old  Constitution,  born  in  the  trials 
of  the  war  for  independence,  baptized  in  the  blood 
of  the  men  who  made  it  or  died  for  it,  christened 
in  tlie  experience  of  the  full  churcli  militant,  tri- 
umphant now  in  th(-  I'nion,  and  after  foreign  wars 
and  ci\il  wars  seen  to-day  in  thirty-eight  .States, 
and  four  more  knocking  to  come  in  from  ten  ter- 
ritories almost  as  large  as  the  .States  now  in  e.xist- 
ence.  Governor  .SKv^[()UK  belie\-ed  in  all  this 
advance,  and  often  recalled  in  the  harewell  Ad- 
dress of  the  father  of  the  nation,  the  great  teach- 
er's words  u[)on  the  powers  of  government,  the 
spirit  of  encroachment,  the  love  of  power,  the 
prontniess  to  abuse  it,  and  the  necessity  of  recipro- 
cal checks  in  the  exercise  and  distribution  of  pol- 
itical authority.  And  he  was  wholly  right  in  his 
frequent  reference  both  to  Washington  as  a  na- 
tional example,  and  to  the  Constitution  as  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  the  duty  of  the  peo- 
ple to  respect  and  obey  it. 

4.9 


5^hf  3\i1(lrr5.s. 


GovKRNOR  Seymour's  War  Rk(  orh  nv   1863. 

The  only  marked  dissent  from  what  I  have  said 
grew  out  of  the  records  of  1863,  when  for  three 
days  in  Jul)-  the  mob  were  masters  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  As  brief  as  words  will  permit.  I  pro- 
pose to  place  this  record  before  you.  These  riots 
mark  the  deep,  ilark,  damned  sjtirit  of  the  rebel- 
lion. \\'hat  led  to  them,  whether  they  could  be 
avoicled  or  not,  whether  it  was  the  number  of  men 
drafted  from  Democratic  chstricts,  or  the  time  of 
the  draft,  or  the  methotl  of  its  execution,  I  shall 
not  here  discuss.  My  purpose  is  to  vindicate,  and 
from  personal  records  and  from  official  records  of 
tliose  who  were  not  the  (iovernor's  political  friends 
(I  believe  he  ha<.l  no  enemies  apart  from  politics), 
his  conduct  during  the  civil  war.  Only  those  who 
were  present  in  Xew  \  ork  City  know  what  the 
July  riots  were.  To  me,  at  the  time  a  journalist, 
a  jM'oprietor  and  citizen,  much  of  whose  work  was 
in  the  midst  of  the  riots,  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,  they  are  remembered  and  detested  as  th(* 
nightmare  of  my  life.  I  recall  as  recently  in  the 
city  of  London,  and  in  ]5elgium  and  elsewhere,  a 
multitude  ot  people  whom  no  man  could  nimiber, 
and  very  man\'  of  them  bent  on  mischief.  Neither 
the  cit)',  the   State,   nor  the   b'ederal   Government 


She  gnUlrc.ssi. 


were  prepared  for  the  bad  temper  and  worse  con- 
duct which  the  draft  and  its  time  and  methods 
created.  I  felt  and  wrote,  and  still  feel  and  say, 
that  each  man  in  this  mob,  or  in  any  mob,  is  the 
embodiment  of  a  kind  of  personal  devil.  The 
best  aspect  in  which  it  can  be  presented  is  that  the 
draft  was  untimel)-.  Commencing"  on  Saturday, 
the  first  names  were  published  on  .Sunda)',  when 
there  was  leisure  to  read  and  think  and  talk  of  the 
conscription.  The  con\  iction  was  strong,  and 
upon  investigation  it  turned  out  to  be  correct,  that 
thousands  more  men  were  to  be  drafted  on  call 
from  Xew  York  than  from  New^  England  and 
other  .States  in  proportion  to  citizens  or  popula- 
tion. This  was  the  spark,  in  part,  which  fired  the 
kindling  of  the  fiame  which  literall)-  set  the  city  on 
fire.  What  gave  it  even  a  form  of  excuse  was  the 
fact  that  this  first  draft  was  in  the  district  where 
the  e.xcess  of  numbers  called  for  was  unjustifiable. 
If  partisanship  originated  this  wrong  upon  the  one 
side,  party  men  naturally  resented  it  upon  the 
other.  A  portion  of  the  press  added  fuel  to  the 
fiames,  as  we  all  know  it  can  when  it  chooses,  and 
from  the  gall  in  the  heart  put  fire  on  the  tongue. 
On  Sunday,  then,  a  day  of  anything  but  rest  and 
peace,  came  news  to  the  Governor  of  the  draft  in 
force,  and  to  the  Mayor  also  only  the  day  before, 


ithc  Suhlrcssi. 


ami  to  each  without  notice.  A  private  telegram 
of  public  danger  hurried  the  Governor  to  the  city. 
Monday  a  mob  of  thousands  were  in  the  streets, 
mad  with  drink  and  passion.  .Already  they  had 
sacked  the  provost-marshal's  office,  burned  the 
block  of  buildings  there  and  elsewhere,  and  fired 
the  Colored  Orphan  Home.  Neither  life  nor 
property  was  safe,  and  the  Governor,  in  the  midst 
of  this  smoke  and  flame  and  ruling  passion,  soon 
declared  the  city  in  insurrection.  The  Governor 
first  heard  of  the  danger  by  a  pri\-ate  telegram  on 
Sunda)-,  when  there  was  no  conveyance  to  the 
city,  and  where  he  was  in  counsel  for  the  safety  of 
the  harbor.  Monday  he  came,  went  to  the  St. 
Nicholas  Hotel  to  meet  General  Wool,  Mayor 
Opdyke,  the  Collector  of  the  Port  and  others. 
Alarm  bells  were  ringing;  incendiaries  were  burn- 
ing public  and  private  propert\-  ;  plunderers  were 
stealing,  and  the  mob,  defying  all  in  authority, 
were  masters  of  the  metropolis.  The  hospitable 
landlord,  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  hotel,  "  for 
God's  sake"  imploretl  the  Governor  and  Mayor  to 
leave.  They  left  at  once  and  went  to  the  Cit)' 
Hall  to  look  the  mob  in  the  face. 

Here  timely  words  ami  action  made  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end.  The  first  step,  leading  to  su- 
jireme  authority  was  the  enormous  crowd  in  front 


Ehc  ^iUlrr.s.s. 


of  City  Hall,  composed  of  all  classes  of  excited 
})eople,  and  some  of  them  among  its  best  citizens. 
I- or  the  public  safety  the  Governor's  presence  was 
ilemanded.  Amonof  his  words  were  these  :  "  1 
Ijcg  you  to  listen  to  me  as  a  friend,  for  I  am  )our 
friend  and  the  friend  of  your  families."  The  ex- 
cited people  one  and  all  now  quietly  listened. 
Tlie  a\o\ved  and  open  purpose  was  to  pour  oil  on 
the  troubled  waters  by  appealing  to  the  common- 
sense  of  the  people,  mob  and  all.  He  first  im- 
plored the  multitude  before  him  to  disperse  to 
their  homes,  and  to  trust  to  law  and  authority  to 
redress  any  possible  grievance.  His  chief  and  in- 
ward purpose  by  this  appeal  was  to  gain  time  for 
the  State  and  municipal  authorities  to  act  as  a  unit 
and  to  save  the  city  from  further  violence;  and  b)- 

this  agenc)'  alone,  in  forty-eight  hours,  and  after 
about  one  thousand  of  the  rioters  and  citizens  had 
been  killed  or  wounded,  order  was  restored. 
There  was  no  aid  from  the  general  government, 
none  whatever;  but  the  police  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  acting  upon  the  authority  of  the  Governor, 
were  literally  a  tower  of  strength  in  the  riot;  and 
it  is  due  to  the  truth  of  history  to  make  this  state- 
ment, and  to  add  to  it,  that  every  well-informed 
man  in  the  cit)'  now  stood  b)-  the  police,  the 
Mayor  of  the  city,  and  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

53 


a  he  ^^(Idrf.ssi. 


And  it  was  for  the  words  I  have  quoted,  and  for 
his  coiuhict  there  and  then,  that  Governor  Sev- 
MoiM<  was  charged  with  holdiii:^'  a  parhjy  with 
"  bh:)od\'  criminals   and  thiexes." 

I  need  not  picture  the  coiuhtion  of  the  city  in 
an<l  just  before  these  July  riots.  In  the  absence 
of  tlefenses  and  of  State  troops  the  real  danger 
was  appallin!^  ;  Init  Governor  Seymour  was 
neither  timid  nor  slow  to  meet  the  crisis.  He 
had  comprehended  the  full  danger,  anti  meant  to 
master  it.  if  he  could.  Richmoutl  was  not  so  near 
t(i  him  as  at  first  it  was  to  those  who  had  been 
capturetl,  or  to  those  who,  in  their  cries  of  "  On 
to  Richmond!"  had  rej^^-arded  this  advance  as  an 
easy  summer-time  march.  McDowell,  McClellan, 
Poi)e,  liurnside.  Hooker  —  all  had  tried  it  and 
fouml  it  necessar)-  to  [lause  until  Cirant  and  Sher- 
idan from  the  east,  and  Sherman  trom  the  south, 
much  later  on,  with  thousantls  more  men,  and 
much  better  pre[)ared,  openetl  the  wa)'  to  the  long- 
beleagured  city,  when  the  rebellion  melted  away 
like  snow  before  the  sun. 

In  the  great  cit\'  in  the  worst  peril  of  1S63,  Gov- 
ernor .SKVMdfk  could  count  among  his  supi)orters 
as  a  war  Governor  the  Presidt-nt,  his  .Secretary  of 
War,  Mayor  Opdyke,  the  Collector  of  the  Port, 
and    leading   citizens   without    number    not   of  his 


Ehc  3nl(lrr.s.s. 


own  party.  But  the  slow  work,  as  it  was  called, 
and  the  least  spark  of  independence,  even  if  min- 
gled with  the  truest  patriotism,  made  the  press,  in 
part,  merciless  in  its  censures  and  criticisms 

On  July  4.  1S63,  before  the  people,  the  (iov- 
ernor  exhorted  calm  deliberation,  and  addressed 
his  words  to  citizens  of  all  parties.  He  did  not 
then  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  this  State  was  called 
upon  to  raise  in  all  467,047  troops  of  the  2,859,- 
[32  called  for  by  the  nation.  On  the  contrary,  he 
issued  two  proclamations,  showing  what  was  meant 
to  be  done,  and  what  at  once  proved  most  timely 
and  effective.  I  quote  the  letter  of  one  and  the 
spirit  of  both  : 

"  I  do  hereby  declare  the  city  and  county  of  New  York  to  be 
in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  give  notice  to  all  persons  that  the 
means  provided  by  the  laws  of  this  State  for  the  maintenance 
(if  law  and  order  will  be  employed,  to  whatever  degree  may  be 
necessary  ;  and  that  all  persons  who  shall  after  this  proclama- 
tion resist,  or  aid  or  assist  in  resisting  any  force  ordered  b\- 
the  Governor  to  quell  or  suppress  such  insurrection,  will  render 
themselves  liable  to  the  penalty  prescribed  by  law. 

HORATIO   SEYMOUR." 

Obedience  to  all  legal  authority,  whether  the 
law  and  authority  were  agreeable  or  not,  was  the 
command  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  State. 
General  Wool,  for  public  reasons,  had  been  urged 
to  declare  martial  law,  and  opposing  this  was  re- 

ss 


(The  l^iUUfSs. 


moved  from  command.  (Governor  Skymoik  be- 
lievinl  with  him  that  martial  law  would  be  a  yrave 
mistake,  ami  the  War  Department,  after  special 
investigation  l)y  three  men.  two  of  them  of  its  own 
naming,  reported  that  the  accusations  against  tht: 
Governor  were  groundless. 

In  further  answer  to  all  charges  of  inefficiency 
of  purpose.  I  (juote  just  two  sentences  from  the 
Albany  Journal  '■A  this  cit\  at  the  time  of  the  riot. 

"(Governor  .Skvmouk  in  so  promptly  declaring 
the  cit\'  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  contrii)Uted 
largely  to  the  suppression  of  the  riot.  It  gave 
immediate  legal  efficiency  to  the  military  arm.  and 
enabled  the  ci\il  authorities  to  use  that  power 
with  terrible  effect.  It  showed,  also,  that  it  was 
("lovernor  Skvmour's  purpose  to  give  no  cjuarter 
to  the  ruffians  who  seized  upon  the  occasion  of  a 
popular  excitement  to  rob  and  murder.  The  mob 
has  been  overpowered,  law  ami  order  are  triumph- 
ant, anil  the  riotously  disposed  everywhere  have 
received  a  lesson  which  the\'  will  not  soon  forget." 

The  number  of  men  called  for  liy  tlie  draft,  I 
ma)'  now  say,  was  one  cause  of  the  riot,  antl  it  is 
proper  to  add  that  after  a  sharp  corresjjondence 
the  draft  was  suspended,  and  for  two  reasons:  one 
of  them  was  the  admission  that  fraud  had  been 
imposed  upon  the  cit\'  of  New  \'<)rk  and  ujjon  the 


®hc  gKldresijs. 


city  of  Brooklyn,  by  an  unequal  and  an  unjust  call 
for  the  numbers  to  be  drafted. 

This  excess,  all  in  all,  was  about  fourteen  thou- 
sand men,  and  in  the  call  of  luly,  1S64,  for  500,- 
000,  the  excess  was  admitted  to  be  9,648.  Where 
in  New  England  the  district  draft  was  for  2,167, 
the  district  draft  on  the  same  basis  in  New  York 
was  for  2,674  men.  The  Secretary  of  War,  upon 
investigation,  fully  admitted  this  wrong,  and  for 
its  exposure,  and  for  State  justice  which  in  the 
end  came  from  it,  the  .State  was  indebted  to  Gov- 
ernor Seymour.  On  April  16,  I864,  the  Repub- 
lican .Assembly  by  resolution  honorably  and  unan- 
imously, thanked  "  Governor  .Seymour  for  his 
prompt  and  efficient  efforts  in  procuring  a  correct 
enrolment  of  the  State."  Like  unanimous  votes 
of  thanks  came  from  the  Board  of  .Supervisors  of 
the  city,  politically  equally  divided  ;  from  the  re- 
ligious body  of  which  .Archbishop  Hughes  was  the 
head,  and  from  citizens  and  capitalists,  who  had 
been  saved  the  unjust  ta.xation  which  should  come 
from  an  over-draft  of  men  at  a  time  when  .$700 
bounty  was  paid  for  each  volunteer.  Candor  and 
justice  often  make  slow  pace  in  the  world,  but  as 
we  see  here  error  of  opinion  and  action  were  in 
the  end  overruled  for  good. 

You   will    also    remember   that   before   the   war 


ehf  "^tlilrcss. 


began,  (Governor  SKVNfoUR,  ami  one  of  jnur  now 
distinouished  I'nited  States  Senators,  were 
sneered  at  as  "  Union  savers,"  as  if  the  four  years' 
war,  and  all  its  sacrifices  of  life  and  property,  Icad- 
ini'"  to  tinal  peace,  ilid  not  niran  the  sa\in^'  of  the 
Union,  and  was  not  chielly  for  that  purpose. 
The.  ("lovernor  simply  c()m[)rehentled  what  the 
South  meant  when  the  federal  capital  was  aban- 
doned by  senators,  judges  and  representatives 
from  the  States  south  of  the  Potomac.  Then  and 
later  on,  and  always,  he  resisted  separation  for  all 
causes,  and  declared  that  all  remedies  for  all  polit- 
ical e\ils,  real  or  alleged,  were  to  be  found  in  the 
existing  Government.  This  faith  iit  a  united 
( lovernment,  I  shall  show,  won  the  conlidence  of 
President  Lincoln,  and  the  full  endorsement  of 
Secretary  .Stanton. 

In  his  inaugural  address  in  January,  1S63,  the 
Ciovernor  had  said  :  "  Under  no  circumstances  can 
the  division  of  the  Union  be  conceded."  And 
again  h(^  said  :  "  \\"<'  will  put  forth  every  exertion 
of  power  lo  jirevent  it."  And  after  strong  words 
of  policy,  conciliation  and  fraternal  reganl  which 
must  prexail  in  a  common  counlr\-,  he  adds  :  "  We 
can  never  voluntarily  consent  to  the  breaking  up 
of  the  Union  of  these  States  or  the  destruction  of 
the   Constitution." 

58 


©Uc  ^darfss. 


In  his  annual  message  he  said:  "In  order  to 
uphold  our  Government  it  is  also  necessary  that 
we  shoukl  show  respect  to  the  authority  of  our 
rulers  ;  where  it  is  their  tluty  to  decide  upon 
measures  and  policy,  it  is  our  duty  to  give  a  reach- 
support  to  their  decisions.  This  is  a  vital  maxiiu 
of  liberty.  W'ithout  this  loyalty  no  government 
can  coniluct  public  affairs  with  success,  no  people 
can  be  safe  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights." 

He  disapproved  of  arbitrary  arrests,  the  pas- 
sions and  prejudices  of  inferior  agents,  the  sup- 
pression of  journals,  and  imprisonment  of  persons 
for  partisan  reasons,  the  abduction  of  citizens  of 
this  State,  and  especially  at  a  time  when  the  State 
was  "  sending  forth  great  armies  to  protect  the 
national  capital  and  to  save  the  national  officials 
from  Ibght  or  capture."  His  own  strong  words 
were  :  "  I  deny  that  this  rebellion  can  suspend  a 
sin'de  rieht  of  citizens  of  loval  States.  I  de- 
nounce  the  doctrine  that  civil  war  in  the  .South 
takes  away  from  the  loyal  North  the  benefits  of 
one  principle  of  civil  liberty."  And  these  burning- 
words,  the  strongest  ever  used  by  Governor  Sev- 
MOUR,  within  one  )-ear  were  in  general  accord  with 
the  best  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  .State  ami 
country,  and  tin-ie  soon  proved  that  the)-  were  the 
safest   for  the  republic   in  war  as  in  peace.      Thej- 

59 


ST'hc  I^rtrtrcss. 


rest  simply  upon  our  coinmnn-sense  nature  and 
common-sense  patriotism. 

When  in  the  summer  of  1S63  the  Secretary  of 
War  called  upon  Governor  Skymoir  for  help,  his 
answers  were  as  prompt  as  the  calls  for  aid. 
General  Lee  was  in  Pennsylvania,  and  \\  ashiuL;- 
ton,  llarrisburgh,  and  Philadelphia  were  in  jjeril. 
The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  joined  in  the  call 
of  the  Government  upon  this  .State-  for  promjit 
and  needed  help. 

June     15,    iSb3,    came    this    dt-spatch    from    the 

.Secretary  of   \\'ar  : 

"Will  voii  please  infunn  me  immediately  if,  in  answer  to  a 
special  call  nf  the  Presiilent,  you  can  raise,  and  forward,  say 
twentv  tlnuis.uid  niililia.  as  volunteers,  without,  hounty,  to  lie 
credited  on  the  draft  of  vour  State;  or  what  nuinher  you  c^wi 
possibly  raise  .^  E.   M.  STAMTOX,   Sr.rc/.ny  ,;/  W.irr 

On  the  same  da)',  Jum-   15th,  cauK;  this  answer: 

■■  I  will  spare  n(j  efforts  to  send  yini  troops  at  once. 

"HORATIO   SEYMOUR." 

At  a  later  hour  the  same  day  this  despatch  was 
sent  to  the  Secretary  of  War  : 

"I  will  order  the  Ni-w  York  and  Brooklyn  troops  to  Phila- 
delphia at  once.      Where  can  they  get  arms.  i(  any  are   needed  .' 

■' tlORATIO  SEYMOUR." 

The  same  day,  again,  this  despatch  was  sent  to 
Mr.  Stanton  : 


(?Uf  Address. 


"We  have  two  thousand  enlisted  \olanteers.  I  will  have 
them  consolidated  into  companies  and  regiments,  and  sent  on  at 
once.     Vou  must  provide  them  with  arms. 

■HORATIO  SEYMOUR.' 

The  arms  were  supplied,  the  troops  sent,  and 
every  hour,  day  and  night,  were  busy  hours  at  this 
capital  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

July  2d.  Governor  Curtin,  of  Pennsylvania, 
wrote  to  ( jovernor  Seymour  : 

"  Send  forth  more  troops  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Ever\'  houi 
increases  the  necessity  for  large  forces  to  protect  Pennsylvania. 
The  battles  of  yesterday  were  not  decisive,  and  if  Meade  shoukl 
be  defeated,  unless  we  have  a  large  army  this  State  will  be 
overrun  by  the  rebels. 

"A.  P.  CURTIN,  CiOTertior  of  Pennsylvania." 

Two  weeks  earlier.  President  Lincoln  and  his 
Secretary  of  War  thanked  Governor  Seymour, 
and  through  him  the  State  of  New  York,  for  in 
this  war  the  State  and  the  Governor  were  a  unit. 
These  are  their  words  : 

"Washington,  June  19,  1863. 
"The  President  directs   me  to  return  his  thanks  to  his  Excel- 
lency Governor  Seymour  and  his  staff  for  their  energetic  and 
prompt  action.     EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War." 

Then  came  the  request,  the  21st  of  June,  signed 
by  the  Secretary  of  War : 

"  The  President  desires  Governor  Seymour  to  forward  to 
Baltimore  all  the  militia  that  he  can  raise." 

61 


She  ^Kldrcssi. 


To  t_"iOvernor  Curtin  s  appeal  came  these  hope- 
ful and  emphatic  words,  June  18,  1803,  from  Gov- 
ernor Seymour : 

"About  twelve  thnusa?i(l  men  arc  imw  movina;,  and  are  under 
orders  for  Harrisburg,  in  good  spirits,  and  well  equipped." 

And  on  July  2d  ; 
"TriKjps  will  continue  to  be  sent.     One  regiment  left  to-day." 

The  city  \vas  now  wholly  defenceless.  The 
nine  fortifications  in  t!ie  harbor  were  [iractically 
without  tro(,)ps.  and  General  AX'dol  reporting-  this 
fact  to  the  President  and  to  the  Governor,  the 
latter,  with  .Senator  Morgan  and  Coniptrollcr 
Rohinson.  looked  u[)on  the  danger  with  bated 
Ijrcath.  In  all  the  nine  fortifications  onl\-  five 
hundred  miMi  were  [iresent,  and  but  half  ot  them 
of  the  artillerw  The  Giovernment  ships  were  all 
at  Hampton  Roads.  It  was  in  this  crisis,  July 
()th,  that  General  Wool  called  upon  Governor 
8F,v.\rouR  for  material  aid  for  the  United  States, 
anil  said  lo  him  in  an  official  paper: 

"For  want  of  troojis  the  city  is  in  :i  defenceless  condition.  1 
ncpiire,  imluding  a  regiment  .if  lira\y  artillery,  eight  compan- 
ies, composed  of  artillery,  volunteers  or  militia,  to  be  placed  in 
tlie  forts  of  this  harbor.  As  I  have  no  companies  in  tlie  State 
of  New  York  for  this  service,  I  would  respecthilly  ask  your 
Excellency  to  order  four  coni|i.niies  to  be  furnished  as  soon  as 
practicable.  JOHN  ^YOOL,  Major-Ceiierat:' 

62 


(Cite  ^drtrr.ss. 


l'>ut  the  correspondence  thus  far  cjuoted  is  not 
first  in  importance.  On  March  23,  1863,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  wrote  the  following  manly  letter  to 
Governor  Seymour,  marked  "private  and  confi- 
dential :  " 

"You  and  I  are  substantially  strangers,  and  I  write  chieflv 
tiiat  we  may  become  better  acquainted.  I,  for  the  time  being, 
am  at  the  head  ol  a  nation  which  is  in  great  peril,  and  you  are 
at  the  head  of  the  greatest  State  in  that  nation.  As  to  main- 
taining the  nation's  life  and  integrity,  I  assume  and  believe 
there  cannot  be  any  diflterence  of  purpose  between  vou  and  me. 
If  we  should  differ  as  to  the  means,  it  is  important  that  such  dif- 
ference should  be  as  small  as  possible;  that  it  should  not  be 
enhanced  by  unjust  suspicions  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  In 
the  performance  of  my  duty  the  co-operation  of  your  State,  as 
that  of  others,  is  needed,  in  fact  it  is  indispensable.  This  alone 
is  a  sufficient  reason  why  I  shimld  wish  to  be  at  a  good  under- 
standing with  you.     Please  write,  etc. 

A.  LINCOLN." 

If  you  will  recall  the  date  of  this  letter,  you  will 
see  that  it  was  in  the  midst  of  the  nation's  greatest 
strife,  and  just  then  every  day  increasing.  Gov- 
ernor Seymour  received  this  invitation  to  write 
while  the  Legislature  was  in  session  —  and  he 
promised  a  full  answer  upon  the  "aspect  of  public 
affairs  and  the  condition  of  our  imhappy  countr\" 
"as  soon  as  he  could  be  relieved  from  a  pressure 
which  confined  him  to  the  Executive  Chamber 
until   eacli   midnitrht."      His   closing  words,  follow- 


(tlif  3Vthkr5?;. 


ino-  an   apology  for  delay   in   rephing-  at   once   to 
the  President,  read  as  follows  : 

''lassuii-  you  that  mi  jioliliial  resnil  nn-nt.  iiu  |-ii-rsiiiKil  pur- 
poses, will  turn  me  aside  fnun  tlie  p.illiwav  I  liaxe  maikeil  nul. 
I  intend  to  show  those  charijcd  with  the  .idniinistratiou  of  puli- 
lio  allairs  a  due  deference  and  respect,  and  to  t;i\'e  to  them  a  just 
and  jrenerous  support  in  all  the  nu.'.isures  tliev  may  adopt  within 
the  scojie  of  their  constitutional  |)owers.  For  the  preservation 
of  this  T'nion  I  am  leady  to  niaUe  anv  sacritice  of  interest,  ])as- 
sion,  or  prejudice,     'i'ruly  yuirs,       HORATIO    Sf;VM01'R." 

What  followed  in  the  luindred  ami  more  ela\s 
of  emerg-enc}'  in  the  siii)j)ly  of  men  and  arms  to 
end  the  rel)ellion,  in  proclamations  to  crush  the 
insurrection,  in  words  to  calm  the  public,  to  suji- 
port  the  ("lovernment  as  a  unit,  you  have  seen 
from  the  othcial  records.  Ikit  the  end  is  not  yet 
seen. 

The  lollowino-  letter  from  .Secretary  .Stanton  to 
C'lovernor  .Si;\>niru  makes  its  own  comment  : 

"(CilNFinENTI.AL,) 

"War  nF.p.\RTMENT  Washington,  Jnn,'  27,  1863. 

'"DkarSir;  I  cannot  forebear  expressing  to  you  the  deep 
<)l)lis;ati(jn  I  feel  for  the  prompt  and  cordial  support  you  ha\-e 
j;i\-en  to  the  (ioxernmeni  in  the  present  emerjjencv.  The 
energy,  acti\ity  and  patriotism  you  ha\-e  e.\hii)ited  1  may  be 
])i'rniitted  personally  and  ulficially  to  acknowledge,  without  ar- 
rog.iting  any  personal  claim  on  mv  part  in  such  service,  or  to 
any  service  whatever. 

"  1  shall  be  luqipy  to  be  always  esteemed  \cinr  friend, 

"  EDWIN   STANTOX." 


®he  ^rtikeiss;. 


A  more  public  letter  than  this,  dated  May  24, 
1864,  begged  Governor  Seymour  "to  come  to 
W'ashintjton  immediatelv  on  matters  of  ereat 
public  interest." 

OnI\'  one  record  more  of  the  President's  posi- 
tion in  this  year  of  peril,  and  I  shall  close.  Ex- 
Senator  Simon  Cameron,  classed  as  one  of  the 
President's  best  friends,  has  charged  that  there 
was  a  secret  purpose,  late  in  1862  or  early  in  1863, 
using  his  own  published  words,  "  to  bring  about 
the  ejectment  of  President  Lincoln  from  the  White 
House."  W^ithout  the  knowledge  of  the  purpose 
of  those  who  invited  him  to  visit  Washington,  he 
went  there,  as  he  says,  "  to  meet  a  number  of 
prominent  men,  whose  real  object  was  to  find 
means  by  which  the  President  covdd  be  impeached 
and  turned  out  of  office."  Governor  .Si-;v^rouK 
believed  in  this  conspiracy,  and  lielieved  also  that 
the  President  was  aware  of  its  existence.  Mr. 
Cameron  spoke  very  plainly  of  it  when,  in  1878, 
he  said  :  "  The  reasons  and  the  plan  of  attack 
were  all  made  known  to  me,  and  I  declared  to 
those  who  reported  it  that  it  was  but  little  short 
of  madness  to  interfere  with  the  administration." 
Happily  for  the  President  and  the  country  this 
conspiracy  never   ripened   into    the  crime   of  trea- 

es 


ffhr  ^ililrrsis. 


son,  for  just  then  ;inel  there  it  was  nothing  less. 
And  in  closing  the  record  of  this  war  —  a  war 
of  the  national  brotherhood  of  States  and  people 
in  one  great  nation  ;  a  war  without  precedent  in 
waste;  of  life  and  property  ;  a  war  of  more  than  a 
hundred  ijattles  fought,  lost,  or  won  ;  a  war  that 
upon  the  side  of  the  Union  cost  one  million  of 
people  in  all,  and  five  thousand  millions  of  dollars 
in  money  ;  in  its  results  with  slavery  ended  and 
peace  restored  in  a  stronger  bond  of  union  than 
ever  before  —  let  me  say  what  I  believe,  and  what 
I  hope  you  will  admit  upon  the  evidence  pre- 
sented, that  in  its  long  and  blood)-  history,  no 
man  in  the  nation  was  found  of  truer  devotion  to 
the  principles  of  constitutional  government,  to  a 
nobler  love  of  State  or  country,  or  manhood,  than 
Horatio  Skvmour. 

I  present  his  name  to  the  Legislature  and 
people  as  in  all  respects  worthy  of  their  remem- 
brance in  these  State  honors  ;  as  an  example  to 
the  rising  generation,  and  as  one  who  illustrated 
in  his  public  career  the  text  of  John  Milton,  when 
lie  called  that  a  complete  and  generous  education 
which  tits  a  man  to  "  perform  justly,  skilfully,  and 
magnanimousl)-  all  the  offices  both  public  and 
private  of  peace  and  war." 


LofC. 


©he  ^(liltrisis. 


If  in  his  political  life,  like  Solon,  the  man  we 
now  honor  declared  what  a  true  Democracy  was, 
like  Publicola,  he  also  remembered  what  it  meant 
in  the  practice  of  a  well-spent  life,  and  in  the 
government  of  a  great  republic. 


67 


2!;cni.5latiir  i'vocrfiUnoi.s. 


(LonGdrrent  ResolotiGtis  of  \\{e  Senate  and  Assembly. 


Mr.  Pitts  offered  the  followins^  : 

R,-so/veii  (\i  the  Assembly  cunciir).  That  tlie  thanks  of  the  Leg- 
islature be  and  hereby  are  tcnrlereii  to  the  Honorable  Erastus 
Brooks,  for  the  able,  elocjuent  and  instructive  address  delivered 
by  him  on  the  life  and  character  mI  the  Lite  Horatio  Seymour, 
at  the  memorial  exercises  held  in  the  Assembly  Chamber  on 
Wednesday  evening,  April  14th. 

A'rs.^h',;/.  That  the  Clerk  of  the  Senate  be  and  he  licreby  is  in- 
structed to  cause  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  to  be  prop- 
erly   engrossed    and    forwarded    to    the     Honorable    Erastus 

BUOiiKS. 

STATE  OK  NEW  YORK:  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK: 

In  Senate,  I  In  .Asskmdly,  I 

.-J/;v7  15,  1886.    f  .-J/r,7  15,  i386.    ( 

The   foregoing  resolution   was  iluly  The   foregoing   resolution  was  duly 

passed,  passed. 

liv  order  of  the  Senate  Hy  ord'-r  ol  the  Assembly. 

JOHN  W.  VROOMAN,  CH.VS    A.  CHICKERINO, 

aeyi.  cV.-./l-. 

Mr.  Ekwix  offered,  for  tlic  consitk-rdtion  of  the 
House,  a  resolution  in  the  words  following  : 

/\,s,>/7',;f  {\{  the  Senate  concur),  That  there  be  printed  in  b<iok 
form,  bound  in  cloth,  under  the  direction  of  the  Clerks  of  the 
Senate  and  Assembly,  3,000  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Legislature,  and  the  memorial  oration  of  the  Hon.  Erastu.s 
Brooks  on  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  for  the  use 
of  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  500  copies  for  the  family  of 
Horatio  Seymour,  i,ooocopies  forthe  use  of  the  Hon.  Erastus 
Brooks,  and  500  copies  for  the  ollicers  and  reporters  of  the 
Legislature. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK:  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK: 

In  .Assembi-V.             (  In  Sen.ate,                I 

.-)//•//  22.  18S6.    (  .I/''''  23.  1SS6.    f 

The  foregoing  resolution   was   duly  The    foregoing  resolution  was   duly 

passed.  passed. 

Bv  order  of  the  Assembly.  By  order  of  the  Senate. 

CHAS.   A.  rillCKERING,  JOHN  W.  VROOMAN, 

CU-r/t.  Clerk.