JAMES RENWICK, LL.D.

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CHAPTER XIX.

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Success of the Canal Policy. – Silver Vases are presented to Clinton by the Merchants of New-York. – He is invited by Mr. Adams to serve as Minister to Great Britain, and declines. – Great Celebration of the opening of the Canal. – New and important Public Works recommended by Clinton. – His plan of a Board of Public Works. – Antimasonic Excitement. – Coalition to Defeat Clinton’s election as Governor. – He is, notwithstanding, re-elected.

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In conformity with the election of which we have spoken, Clinton resumed his seat as Governor of the State of New-York in January, 1825. He now had it in his power to communicate officially the triumph of the system of which he had so long been an advocate. Little more than seven years had elapsed since the first earth was removed from the bed of the canal, and it was now approaching to completion. In the summer of 1823 boats had passed into the Hudson, and the navigation was open thence to within a short distance of Buffalo. The revenues of the canal fund had derived the increase he had anticipated from the very action of the canal itself. The two principal items were the salt duties and those on auction sales. The facilities afforded to the transport of salt had enlarged the sphere of its consumption, and thus the quantity manufactured had been increased. Wealth had been diffused along the line of the canal, calling for new articles of luxury and utility, while the abundance of the products of which the City of New-York became the market and the place of export, was rapidly rendering it the central point of the import trade of the Union. The sales at auction were multiplied from all these causes, and a larger revenue accrued. The canal itself, although not completed, nor in the reception of the trade of the Western Lakes, already yielded tolls of an unexpected amount. It happened from all these causes that Clinton had the satisfaction to announce, in his first message to the Legislature, that the income of the canal fund, when added to the tolls, exceeded the interest on the cost of the canal by nearly four hundred thousand dollars.

A degree of prosperity unexampled, and hardly anticipated by the most sanguine, prevailed throughout the state. The City of New-York, which in 1818 had witnessed a decrease in its population, and a prodigious fall in the value of property, had now recovered its prosperity, and was increasing in population and wealth in a ratio higher than at any former period. The counties on the banks of the Hudson, and those on Long Island, which had feared a decay in their agriculture in consequence of the admission of rivals from the West in the supply of the city, saw these gloomy anticipations contradicted by experience. The western parts of the state had been in a manner created by the operation of the canal. The regions whence the transport of the produce to the Hudson had been equal to its whole value in Albany, were now placed almost on equality with those upon the Hudson. Land to the west of the Seneca Lake was enhanced in value fourfold, and that less remote, if not benefitted in as high a ratio, derived advantages corresponding to its distance.

The mercantile interest in the city, enjoying a degree of prosperity such as the most sanguine anticipations had never contemplated, considered Clinton as the prominent cause of the vast increase of trade which the canal had opened. It was therefore resolved to take measures for the purpose of signifying to him the high opinion which was entertained by the merchants of his public services. With this intention a meeting was called, at which it was determined that a subscription should be raised for the purpose of purchasing articles of plate, to be presented to Clinton as an evidence of their gratitude, and to serve as a durable memorial of the benefits conferred by him upon the City and the State of New-York.

The subscription was speedily filled up; and, in conformity with the intentions of the meeting, two large and rich silver vases were procured, and formally presented to Clinton by a committee on behalf of the merchants. Valuable as was the material of this present; much as the workmanship, remarkable for beauty of design and elaborate execution, exceeded the material in cost, the gift owed its real value to the fact of its being the symbol of the unanimous approbation of the most intelligent, enterprising, and public-spirited body of citizens which could have been collected for any object whatever. The merchants of New-York belong to all political parties; are connected with every diversity of religious sect; they are, besides, divided by a variety of interests and occupations, and are actuated by strong feelings of rivalry. On no other occasion have they ever been united in an unanimous expression of opinion; and the proverbial acuteness with which they discern matters effecting their pecuniary interests, renders this spontaneous tribute to the merits and services of Clinton a compliment such as has been paid to no other American statesman.

After his death, these vases, under the law of the equal distribution of inheritances, were, in the absence of a will, necessarily sold. At the sale they were purchased by a new subscription, and presented to his oldest surviving son. It is in instances of this sort that the law abolishing all entailment seems hard and impolitic. It might have gratified the donors to know that the gift would never be alienated from the family of Clinton, and the gift would have been enhanced in value to him.

Clinton had, as we have seen, avoided engaging himself with the adherents of either of the candidates for the presidency in the place of Mr. Monroe. The most prominent of these had been members of the cabinet of that gentleman, and the decided opposition which he had shown to Clinton’s interests in New-York must have prevented him from having any very friendly feeling towards them. On the withdrawal of Mr. Crawford, the party which had supported him turned their views towards General Jackson. To him alone of all the candidates could Clinton have any personal liking. The friends of Crawford had been the agents in his removal from the office of canal commissioner, while the very men who had been most influential in obtaining for Adams the electoral vote of New-York were those who had seceded from the convention by which Clinton was nominated for governor. Jackson, on the other hand, had rebuked, in the very seat of the power of the personal opponents of Clinton, the ingratitude of the state towards its most useful and distinguished citizen. Still it was impossible that Clinton could act with the party which, on the withdrawal of Crawford, transferred their support to Jackson. Hence, at his election as governor, he was free from all connexion with the friends of either of the candidates for the presidency.

The vote of the electoral colleges was not decisive; the choice of president therefore devolved upon the House of Representatives, and Mr. Adams was elected. This gentleman was no sooner made aware of his success, than he determined to offer to Clinton the appointment of minister to England. The offer was accordingly made, but was, without hesitation, declined by the latter. In his refusal, Clinton assigns as the principal reason, the obligation he was under to the citizens of his native state, who had so recently and by so large a majority elected him to the chief magistracy. There is no need of searching for other motives, nor is it probable that any other influenced him at the moment. It is obvious, however, that Clinton would have been brought, by the acceptance of the office, into political communion with many who had been his opponents from personal enmity as well as upon political grounds. A few months’ experience satisfied him in confirmation of the correctness of his decision, that Mr. Adams could not hope for a re-election, and that all who had become connected with him must share in his downfall.

Our country has never witnessed any ceremony accompanied by such pomp, nor one which diffused in every breast such unmingled feelings of gratification. All feelings of party spirit were suspended, and even the bitterness of personal animosity was for a moment neutralized. Clinton was received at every place as the chief instrument of the blessings which had already been experienced, but which all felt to be the mere prelude of what were to follow; and, while thousands had aided in promoting the great design, no whisper was heard to indicate that he had any rival in the magnitude of his exertions or the amount of his services.

A mind of ordinary character might have been content with the glory thus acquired; one who had attained such a height of reputation without deserving it, might have feared to venture it by proposing new measures of the same description; while devotion to the cause of the Erie Canal might have had the effect of rendering even clear-sighted persons blind to the value of other plans of internal improvement. Clinton was influenced by no such feelings. Even before the canal was completed, and in the very act of seating himself in the gubernatorial chair, he pointed out to the Legislature new channels of internal communication, as likely to be new sources of wealth to the state.

The counties which lie on the right bank of the St. Lawrence are naturally rich and fertile, but, in consequence of the difficulty of communication, land situated in them has rather fallen than risen in value since the internal improvements of the state were begun, and the population has shown a disposition to remove to more accessible regions. A part of this country might be brought into communication with the Erie Canal by means of a canal from the valley of the Black River to that of the Mohawk. This, however, would be costly, in consequence of the height of the summit level, unless some cheaper mode than that of locks could be introduced for overcoming it. The mountains which occupy so great a portion of the north of the state, fall away about the 45^th degree of latitude, and it is obvious that a canal from the St. Lawrence to Lake Champlain is practicable. This would open the whole of this region, and render it accessible to commerce. Clinton recommended this line of communication to the notice of the Legislature; and, as the best route would enter partly into the British territory, suggests the propriety of endeavouring to obtain permission to make the canal from the government of Great Britain, or of negotiating an exchange for territory in some other region. Nothing has been done towards the promotion of this project, and it will rest among those instances in which local interests have triumphed over the public good.

It had been among the points of policy which Clinton had most strenuously supported, that the communication with Lake Ontario should be avoided. When, however, the completion of the direct route to Lake Erie was assured, an important region on that lake seemed to demand a communication with the great canal. Clinton entered warmly into the support of this project, and made it the subject of a recommendation to the Legislature.

It has been seen that an imperfect navigation, interrupted by portages, had connected the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes with the Mohawk, but from the Erie Canal no communication to those lakes had been provided. Canandaigua Lake, which had been before reached by no navigation, although of less extent, lies also in the heart of a rich country. The connexion of these three lakes with the Erie Canal, appeared to Clinton to be an object of great importance, and the consideration of this subject was, in consequence, urged upon the Legislature.

Crooked Lake empties its waters in the Seneca Lake, and from the head of the former a long portage had afforded access to the Tioga or Chemung Branch of the Susquehanna. It appeared that a canal was practicable in this direction, and this seemed to Clinton of sufficient importance to be made one of the subjects of his first message to the Legislature.

Of these projected canals, those which join the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes to the Erie Canal have been constructed, in conformity with Clinton’s recommendations, as has that from the Seneca Lake to the Chemung. Those who have entertained less liberal views of the policy of the state in respect to internal improvements, have not failed to remark, that the tolls on these canals have not met the interest on their cost. It seems, however, to have been demonstrated, that the state is no loser; for, although the receipts collected on the lines of these canals fall short of this object, it is to be considered that, if they be added to the tolls accruing to the Erie Canal from vessels which enter it from these lateral navigations, the sum will be more than sufficient to meet the interest on the cost of these public works. Even did they not suffice for this purpose, an amount of wealth has been created by these canals which far exceeds their whole cost.

Besides these subjects of general interest, Clinton did not refuse to devote his attention to matters merely local. Among the most important of these was the project for supplying the City of New-York with water. The necessity of some provision for this purpose was also pressed upon the Legislature in his first message. This recommendation, although not acted upon at that time, was the first step towards that grant of additional powers to the corporation of New-York, which has led to the execution of the plan of bringing water from near the sources of the Croton for the supply of the teeming population of that city.

The same message contains a recommendation that a board of public works should be "constituted, with authority to consider and report on all subjects relative to the establishment of communications by land and water, by roads, railways, bridges, canals, and water-courses, with a general superintending power over their construction." In relation to this plan he remarks, "The field of operation, and the harvest of honour and profit, are unbounded: and if our resources are wisely applied and forcibly directed, all proper demands for important avenues of communication may be answered in due time and in proper extent." No one can look upon the course which events have taken since his decease without being satisfied of the wisdom of this recommendation, and of the great advantage the state would have derived from a board exercising superintendence over all plans of improvement, in the place of one confined in its operations to the Erie and Champlain Canals.

The year 1825 was marked by an incident which produced a change in the aspect of parties, and for a time set at defiance the calculations of the most experienced politicians.

A person of the name of Morgan, residing at Batavia, in Genesee county, had undertaken to publish the secrets of freemasonry. This had been resented by some over-zealous brethren of the craft, and the obnoxious party was abducted, and, in all probability, murdered. For this act there can be no possible defence. However guilty, in a moral sense, may have been the individual who had violated the solemn oaths by which it is said the admission to this fraternity is guarded, it was not a crime in the eye of the law; and, in a well-regulated community, the right of inflicting punishment even for legal offences is not to be exercised by individuals or associations.

Many have presumed, from the vengeance with which Morgan’s publication was visited, that he had revealed at least a part of the treasured secrets of masonry; and the only actual ground of fear to which that association was subjected, is to be found in the puerile character of the ceremonies it unfolds. They are, in truth, unmeaning in themselves, and mere contrivances to prevent the admission of the uninitiated, by requiring the remembrance of words, signals, and ceremonies, which could not easily be compassed or imitated by those who had not received the key. It is, however, said by some, that this association, deriving its origin from the architects of those magnificent temples which illustrated the ages called dark, possesses many noble and sublime traditions; that it imbodies the mystic knowledge of the Templars, and a traditionary learning, whose amount may be estimated from the contrast with the skill and science displayed in those edifices exhibits, when compared with the ignorance and barbarism of the ages when they were erected. Others claim for it a still more ancient origin, and trace it to the builders of the temples of Egypt, which remain, after the lapse of forty centuries, to attest the genius and talent of their founders.

Whatever be its origin, masonry has, beyond a doubt, been applied to some of the noblest purposes, but may readily be perverted to those of a criminal or dangerous character. In our Revolutionary struggle, its lodges were the places in which patriots and statesmen matured schemes of resistance to British power; and the calamities of war were in more than one instance relieved by the feeling of masonic ties. On the Continent of Europe they have been the receptacle of the aspirants for release from the arbitrary power of civil rulers and the sanguinary tyranny of a persecuting church. The character of a freemason had thus become, in Italy, Austria, and Spain, a mark for proscription. In Mexico, the two rites of York and Scotland have been made the rallying-points of parties in the state. In the United States, initiation to masonry has, to all appearance, been conducive to the advancement of political men; but, as it is accessible to both parties, it does not appear to have influenced the triumphs or defeats of either.

It is one of the peculiarities of this mysterious transaction, that there is little or nothing contained in the work of Morgan which had not previously been published in England towards the close of the last century, without exciting remark. Many have, in consequence, imagined that his sole object was to make money by the sale of a book, which might, to the uninitiated, appear to be a revelation of the object of their curiosity, while it was, in truth, no breach of the oath of secrecy.

Clinton had become a freemason at an early age, and had been elected finally to the highest offices of the association. In this capacity, it appears from his correspondence, that he was repeatedly applied to for advice as to the obligation of the masonic engagement. Replies to such applications occur in his letter-book long before the excitement caused by the disappearance of Morgan arose. They are of uniform tenour, and declare the masonic covenant to be inferior in obligation to the duties of the man, the citizen, and the Christian, to which, if found in opposition, it, in his opinion, ought in all respects to yield.

The abduction and probable murder of Morgan caused an excitement which can only be regarded at the present day as a passionate dream. It was not directed against the individuals who had been instrumental in the unhallowed act alone, but against all the members of the society, and was seized upon by political aspirants as a means of bringing them into notice and raising them to power. To the party thus formed Clinton was necessarily obnoxious, from the lofty station he held in the brotherhood. He had, in consequence, a most difficult part to play; for, while his duty as the chief magistrate of the state called upon him to take measures for the discovery and apprehension of the offenders, the sweeping nature of the denunciations, and the hostile partisan spirit of which they were the expression, were offensive to him as a man, and injurious to him as a politician. He did not, however, falter in the strict fulfilment of his duties; every power of his mind, every prerogative he possessed as governor, were called into action for the purpose of bringing the offenders to justice; and the anxiety he felt that the supremacy of the law should be vindicated, seems to have pressed upon his already declining health. On the other hand, he could not avoid expressing his surprise, that the unauthorized and disavowed acts of a few ill-judging persons should be made the grounds of proscription against all the members of the masonic fraternity.

The sheriff of one of the frontier counties was accused of participation in the abduction of Morgan. The governor forthwith propounded to him a series of written interrogatories relative to his agency in the transaction, and, on his refusal to answer, issued a proclamation removing him from office. This person, it is to be recollected, was his steadfast friend and political supporter; but he would not allow any personal considerations to weigh against the public interest.

In an interview which the removed sheriff sought, he said, "Strong as is my attachment to you, I will, if you are guilty, exert myself to have you punished to the utmost extent of the laws." To which the trembling culprit replied, in faltering tones, "I have done nothing worthy of chains or death."

It is to be feared that this is the last instance of such stern political virtue. The politicians of the present day, far from emulating the example of the elder Brutus, seem to be willing to screen the criminal acts of their adherents; and it is more than insinuated, that party devotion has been accepted as an excuse for the faithful discharge of the duties of office, and served as a screen for actual malversations.

The formation of a political party upon the masonic question, not only in the State of New-York, but in those of Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New-Jersey, is not an isolated instance of the avidity with which political aspirants seek out any incident on which to ground partisan agitation. It is, however, of all that have been thus chosen, perhaps the most singular, and the least promising to lead to any of the desired results. The excitement which naturally prevailed in the immediate neighbourhood where the crime was committed, was not of the sort that could be propagated to a great distance; and those who, without feeling it, undertook to spread it from motives of cool calculation, were grievously disappointed, for the diversion it caused in the array of parties became the sure means of confirming the power of their adversaries.

When Clinton became a candidate for re-election in 1826, the fact of his being a mason was made use of to diminish his popularity. This argument had its most powerful effect in the very region where his greatest strength lay; namely, in the part of the state west of the Cayuga Lake. A formidable coalition was also formed against him from materials to all appearance the most discordant. The old supporters of Mr. Crawford as a candidate for the presidency were leagued with the adherents of the existing administration, and to the latter ware added many of the friends of Mr. Clay. The influence of the custom-house and that of the canal commissioners were called into action to defeat the election of Clinton. Judge Rochester was held up by this coalition as a candidate for the office of governor. The opponents of Clinton were unable to make any impression on his well-merited popularity with the people; but that very popularity was the cause of an over-confidence on the part of his friends. From these causes the vote was so far diminished from that of the previous election, that it was estimated that from twenty to thirty thousand voters did not put in their ballots; and all of these were persons who, had they voted, would have voted for Clinton. In spite of this remissness on the part of his friends, he was re-elected by a majority of upward of four thousand.

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Transcribed from the original text and html prepared by Bill Carr, last updated 12/10/99.