Upon the termination of Governor Clinton's administration under the old constitution, he resolved to withdraw from the station he had held, and to return once more to the walks of private life. Upon that occasion a public meeting of the citizens of Albany was called to express their sentiments relative to his administration, and to solicit him to permit them again to nominate him as a candidate for the office of Governor. The following are the proceedings of the meeting so called.

At a highly respectable meeting of the members of both branches of the legislature and of the citizens of Albany, held on the 16^th inst. at Skinner's Mansion House, William James, Esq. of the city of Albany, was called to the chair, and Thomas H. Campbell, Esq. of the house of assembly, was appointed secretary.

The meeting was addressed by General Gansevoort, of Albany, who took a rapid and comprehensive view of the administration of Governor Clinton, pointing out its sound republican principles, and its strong claim to public confidence. He dwelt for some time on the prominent features in the system of public policy, which had been pursued by our state government for the last few years, and concluded by moving that a committee be appointed to wait on his excellency De Witt Clinton, to ascertain whether he will accept a nomination for the office he now holds.

He was followed by C.G. Haines, Esq. of New-York. Mr. Haines recapitulated the grand purposes which had been effected, and the great interests which had been fostered, by the state administration for the last five years. He said that Mr. Clinton's administration had been one, whose general measures had never been assailed amid all the conflicts of party hostility. He had supported it with ardour and zeal, and his confidence in the integrity and abilities of the chief magistrate was undiminished. In saying this, he believed that he uttered the feelings and opinions of those throughout the state with whom he had acted. If Governor Clinton should again consent to receive the suffrages of the people, he would find the friends of his administration ready to gather round its standard with firmness, with resolution, and consistency. He concluded with seconding the motion of General Gansevoort. The remarks of the speakers were received with warm and decided applause.

On motion of General Gansevoort, - Resolved, That the chairman and secretary address a letter to his Excellency the Governor, which was as follows:

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SIR,

The election of chief magistrate will always be interesting to a free people, and the period is arrived at which they will designate a suitable character for that important office.

Accounts from all parts of the state indicate the increasing desire of the electors for the nomination of the man whose administration, for the last five years, had advanced the prosperity, and exalted the character of the state; and they will expect certain information on the subject, on the return of the members to their respective counties, which will be in a few days.

Influenced by these considerations, and participating in the wishes and feelings of the people, a number of members of the legislature, and of respectable citizens, are this evening convened for the purpose of making preparatory arrangements for a general meeting. Having organised themselves, and interchanged opinions and information, they have no doubt as to the person whose nomination would accord with the free choice of the electors.

They have therefore directed the chairman to inquire if you will consent to be a candidate for the office of Governor at the ensuing election, and appointed a committee to wait on your Excellency for an answer.

The duty, sir, with which I am honoured on this occasion, affords me the opportunity of conveying to you the sentiments of the meeting respecting yourself, by expressing personally my very great respect for your public and private character.

I am, sir, most respectfully, yours, &c.

WILLIAM JAMES, Chairman.

T.B. CAMPBELL, Secretary.

His Excellency DE WITT CLINTON.

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Resolved, That Abraham Hasbrouck, David C. Judson, Philip S. Parker, Robert Shoemaker, and Israel Smith, be a committee to present the same to his Excellency the Governor.

The committee appointed to wait on his Excellency the Governor, reported his answer as follows:

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ALBANY, April 16^th, 1822.

GENTLEMEN:

Having long since determined to retire from the executive chair, on the termination of my present term, I have been anxious to select the most suitable time and mode, of announcing this intention to the public; and I feel greatly obliged to you for this application, which proceeding from so respectable a source, removes at once, and in the most gratifying manner, all difficulties on this subject.

In forming this determination, I have not been insensible to the claims which every community has upon the services of its members. But, from a full persuasion, that a practical recognition of the doctrine of official rotation in a case so prominent, is of more importance in its propitious influence on the purity of republican government, than any benefits which can possibly arise from my continuance in office, I am happy to realize on this occasion, a correspondence between my private inclinations and my duties to the state.

I shall retire with feelings of good will for all my fellow-citizens - with the consciousness of having, with good intentions and without shrinking from any responsibility, endeavoured to the full extent of my faculties, to promote the best interests of the community - and with fervent prayers to the Supreme Dispenser of all good, that his state may, under abler auspices, and by the judicious improvement of her natural advantages, and the patriotic cultivation of her essential interests, attain fullness of prosperity. And be assured, gentlemen, that I shall never cease to cherish sentiments of gratitude for your friendship and of respect for your virtues.

DE WITT CLINTON.

To the Citizens comprising the meeting of

which Wm. James, Esq. is Chairman

and T.B. Campbell Esq. Secretary.

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Whereupon Resolved, that Ephraim Hart, Charles Kellogg, Peter Gansevoort, E.C. Marsh, George W. Stanton, Elijah Miles, Samuel Dill, Joseph T. Rice, James M'Intyre, and Jacob J. Hasbrouck, be a committee to reply to the answer of his excellency the governor.

At an adjourned meeting at the Capitol, on the ensuing day, the committee reported the following reply to the governor.

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SIR,

We receive your letter, declining the suffrages of your fellow-citizens as a candidate for the chief magistracy, with that regret which is inspired by a conviction that by your retirement, the state of New-York will sustain a great public loss.

Your administration requires no review here. It stands before the world, and its purity will meet the eyes of after ages. Boldness of conception, grandeur of design, and vigour of execution, have marked its policy. It will form a distinct and illustrious era in the history of the state of New-York, on which posterity will delight to dwell.

Parties may change, and the stations of individuals may change with them; but the chief magistrate who calls forth the internal resources and the latent energies of a state - who promotes the interests of agriculture and manufactures - who fosters seminaries of learning, the interests of science and literature, and schools for elementary instruction - who introduces economy into all the departments of government, and diffuses a spirit of enterprise and emulation over the land - who facilitates the adoption of sound and wholesome laws, and diminishes the burdens of the people; and lastly, a chief magistrate, who hazards his rank as a statesman and his hold on public confidence, by bringing forward and sustaining with unerring boldness and confidence the grandest improvement in internal navigation that the world has ever beheld, will ever be remembered with pride and gratitude, by that enlightened and reflecting people, on whom his public labours have conferred the most lasting blessings.

We again repeat, that we consider your retirement from the chief magistracy as a public loss. We cannot but feel the truth of this assertion, when we call to mind your long and ardent zeal for the public good, and the great and salutary purposes which you have effected. But, sir, we cannot but congratulate ourselves that you have guided the destinies of the state until your system of general policy is well established - until you have presented examples which will command imitation - until the blessings of your measures are acknowledged - and, more than all, until the canals which are to connect the northern and western lakes with the Atlantic ocean, are nearly completed. There was a day when your surrender of power and trust would have jeopardized the deepest interests of the commonwealth, and proved a lasting calamity.

Our confidence in your integrity as a politician, our high estimation of your capacity as a statesman, and our deep sense of your private virtues, cannot be impaired or shaken. Twenty-five years of service in the most elevated and responsible stations in the gift of the state, afford a test of worth and talents from which candour and reason will not appeal; and a private life whose rectitude and purity even calumny in her wide and licentious ranges of hostility has never dared to assail, prefers a claim that no unprejudiced man can resist.

We acknowledge the soundness of the principle, that rotation in office is necessary and expedient in a republican government; and although its application may at times deprive the public of those services that tend to exalt the fortunes and promote the prosperity of a people, yet it will correct this evil by calling back again to the paths of public trust the distinguished patriots whom it occasionally excludes from power. Although you leave the first office in the gift of the people, and in a measure assume the relations of a private citizen, we trust that your time and your talents will still be found actively contributing to the interests and glory of your native state, and that in the vigour of life and in the season of usefulness, you will at all times and in every capacity, still remember the obligations of patriotism and the claims of posterity.

ALBANY, April 1822.

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Upon Mr. Clinton's retirement from his executive labours it appears he felt it to be his duty to address the distinguished men composing the Judiciary of this state, and to express to them his deep sense of the important services they had rendered, and his high respect for the learning and talents they had displayed in the performance of their judicial functions. Accordingly on the last day of the year 1822, he addressed a letter to James Kent, the chancellor of the state, to Ambrose Spencer, the chief justice, and to Jonas Platt, the judge of the superior court of the state of New-York. Two of those letters with the subjoined replies, have been communicated to me by a friend, who had been permitted by the kindness of Governor Clinton to take copies of the same. In making me the communication, the writer observes, "as the occasion is as memorable as the persons concerned hold rank in the nation, I present them to you to be placed upon record, that they may never be forgotten, and may be resorted to in times more propitious to the solid glory and true happiness of the people."

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"ALBANY, December 31^st, 1822.

"SIR,

"Having always appreciated the importance of the judicial department, as a barrier against oppression, and a bulwark of free governments, it has afforded me uncommon satisfaction to witness the distinguished talents, the profound learning, and the inflexible integrity with which justice has been dispensed in our high tribunals.

"Amongst the jurists of this country, who will command the respect of future times, as well as of the present, whose opinions will be quoted, and whose erudition, abilities, and virtues will be revered, when the agitators, and agitations of the day are swept into oblivion, I hesitate not to place you in the first rank. And I flatter myself that this manifestation of respect, and this tribute of justice, rendered with the utmost sincerity on the last day, and among the last acts of my administration, will be received in the same spirit in which they are offered.

"DE WITT CLINTON."

"The Hon. JAMES KENT,

Chancellor of the State of New-York."

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"ALBANY, Dec. 14, 1822.

{Date inconsistent with that of Gov. Clinton's letter.}

"SIR,

"I do myself the honour to acknowledge the favour of the your Excellency's very obliging and indulgent note of this morning.

"To receive the approbation of so competent a judge, and so distinguished a patron of merit, has always been an object of my highest ambition. It is the best and most honourable reward for the fidelity with which I have endeavoured to discharge the trust committed to me by the government of my country.

"The consolation you have afforded me is, however, chastened by the reflection, that you are now to retire from the station which you have filled with dignity and eminent utility; and permit me to assure your excellency that you carry with you into private life, the gratitude and admiration of the wise and impartial among all classes of your fellow-citizens. By the talents, energy, and public spirit which have illustrated and adorned your administration, you have elevated the state to the first rank among the great community of this nation, it credit and character, as well as by the display of its power and resources.

"The personal attentions and disinterested kindness which I have uniformly received from you, during your official life, will always be held by me in grateful remembrance.

"I am, with the highest respect,

"Your Excellency's most obedient servant,

"JAMES KENT."

"His Excellency GOV. CLINTON."

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"ALBANY, Dec. 31, 1822.

"SIR,

"I cannot, in justice to my feelings, retire from the office of governor of this state, without bearing witness to the talents and purity that you have uniformly evinced in the important judicial office which you occupy.

"The administration of justice in our higher tribunals has demonstrated so much ability, such indefatigable industry, and such uncommon research, that their decisions are referred to in our sister states as luminous expositions and as standard authorities.

"With my best wishes for the continuance of your official usefulness, and your private happiness,

"I am, very respectfully,

"Your most obedient servant,

"DE WITT CLINTON."

"Hon. JONAS PLATT,

One of the Justices of the Supreme Court."

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"WHITESTOWN, Jan. 3, 1823.

"SIR,

"With unfeigned gratitude and respect I received your kind letter of the 31^st December.

"To have obtained the sanction of your approbation for my judicial character and public services, would, at any time, be appreciated by me as a high reward; and I assure you, Sir, that the time and the occasion which you have chosen to express it, have added much to the interest and sensibility with which it has been impressed upon my heart. 'Laudari a laudato viro,' is the highest object of my ambition.

"Permit me, sir, to congratulate you on your dignified retirement from the office of chief magistrate of this state. Your wise, virtuous, and enlightened administration has exalted the character of the state; and in laying the foundation of the public prosperity, you have erected a monument to your own fame, as imperishable as the continent of America.

"With an anxious hope that our country may continue to enjoy the fruits of your high endowments, and my cordial wishes for your private happiness,

"I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"JONAS PLATT."

"GOVERNOR CLINTON."

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Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 5/22/99.