JAMES RENWICK, LL.D.

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CHAPTER XX.

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Clinton’s view of Religious Worship. – His Services to the Presbyterian Education and Bible Societies. – His occasional Addresses. – Great change in the Relations of Parties. – Clinton recommends the Road through the Southwestern tier of Counties. – His Illness and Death. – Political Reflections. – Description of Clinton’s Person, and Remarks on his Character. – Illustrations of the importance of his Services in promoting the Canal Policy of the State.

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Clinton’s early education had been strictly religious. The habits of family worship and catechetical instruction which the first American settler of the race had brought from the land of his forefathers, were maintained by General James Clinton. Their faith was, as we have seen, that of the Presbyterian Church. In the excitement of parties growing out of the French Revolution, many of those who were in favour of the alliance of the United States with France, and of the democratic party in general, either openly avowed principles of infidelity, or silently gave up the forms of attendance upon Christian worship. In this respect the example of Jefferson was pernicious, for his opposition to an established church seems to have carried him to the opposite extreme of discountenancing all public expression of religious feeling. In spite of the intimate political connexion of the Clintons with Jefferson, they were not tainted either with the feelings of luke-warmness or the errors of infidelity. Clinton’s alliance with a Quaker family in the early part of his life, may have rendered him less tenacious of the rites which other Christian sects insist upon, and which that denomination has rejected; but of the essentials of religion he was, even when pressed by political care and personal anxieties, a regular and conscientious observer. While holding the office of mayor, his punctual attendance with his family on the public services of the Presbyterian Church not only marked his own belief, but served as an example to others. With the venerable Dr. Rodgers, the senior pastor of the associated congregations of that denomination, and with the Rev. Dr. Miller, one of his colleagues, he was in habits of close and familiar intimacy; and the adhesion of these pious and exemplary men to the political party to which Clinton belonged, served as a complete refutation of the opinion which united the democratic cause with the impious principles of the French Jacobins.

On his removal to Albany, the same attention to the external forms of religion was manifest, and he became a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. In the conflict of rival creeds, the several sects must look to the influence and character of their lay members as the proof of the benign influence of their tenets, and as the temporal support of their principles. The Presbyterian Church, in consequence, prided itself, at least as much as such pride in spiritual matters is warranted, in the possession of Clinton as a member, and he, in return, rendered it important services.

Of the numerous and munificent charities of the Presbyterian Church, that which is intended to provide for the education of poor and pious young men for its ministry is perhaps the most beneficial in its influences. In the ever-growing population of our country, the means of religious instruction have in general been behind the increase of numbers, and always in arrear of the extension of our settlements. The Presbyterian Church, holding that the days of inspiration are past, makes a sound education, and proficiency in human knowledge, preliminaries to the reception of its ordination. In this it has acted with temporal wisdom, as well as with sound views of the spiritual benefit of its members. Nothing is so likely to bring religion into contempt as ignorance on the part of those who assume to be its teachers. Zeal without knowledge is almost certain to run into fanatical excess; and the exposition of Christian doctrine required, in the absence of the supernatural gifts which distinguished the early age of the church, no small extent of classical learning. The rapid improvements of science are continually renewing the question how far its discoveries are consistent with the real truths of revelation. Antiquated interpretations of texts have been founded on ancient theories in physics, which modern improvements have exploded. The scoffer has taken advantage of such apparent contradiction, and has applied it to the propagation of infidel doctrines. The churchman who shall neglect to become acquainted with scientific principles, and to watch the progress of physical knowledge, may, in the arguments which the unlimited freedom of discussion that the institutions of our country so wisely and fortunately admit of, become involved in a dilemma which, to the uninformed and unreflecting, may be the foundation of infidel opinions. All are aware of the injury which was done to the Christian belief of many anxious inquirers, by the pertinacious opposition of over-zealous churchmen to the discoveries of geology, which, although for a time rejected by them, are supported by such irrefragable evidence, that no one who inquires can possibly refuse his assent.

It is also of vast importance that a large proportion of the teachers of religion should be taken from among those in moderate circumstances, or even in poverty. The habits of those who are reared among the more opulent classes of society, particularly when united with those formed in scholastic institutions, are a bad preparation for the hardships and privations of a frontier settlement; while the spiritual welfare of the people is generally best promoted by a pastor who can enter into the feelings and unite in the society of his parishioners.

Of the Education Society, founded to promote such objects in the Presbyterian Church, Clinton was a valuable and useful member, and held for several years the office of vice-president.

While he thus manifested his preference for the form of worship preferred by his forefathers, he was influenced by no feelings of sectarian bigotry. The mere forms of worship, and even differences in tenets, he regarded as unimportant, so far as the public was concerned, provided the religion professed produced its proper influence on the life and morals.

Of the institutions of human origin, that which has tended in the highest degree to extend the knowledge of the Christian faith in distant lands, and to enlarge its influence in our own, is the Bible Society. Of this inestimable institution Clinton was one of the first officers, and held for some years previous to this death the office of a vice-president.

In addition to his numerous reports on subjects of national interest, his speeches to the Legislature, and the many laws of which he furnished the draughts, Clinton was, as we have seen, a distinguished writer on scientific subjects. He also wrote and delivered many occasional addresses. Of these we may cite, in high terms of commendation, his eulogy on Fulton and Livingston, and his orations before the alumni of Columbia and Union Colleges. These addresses form, as has been well remarked, the most peculiar feature of American literature, from their vast number and general ability. In accepting the invitations to deliver such addresses, Clinton was brought into direct contrast, not with the politicians and statesmen so much as with the most eminent literary and scientific men of the age and country. It is enough for his reputation to say that he did not suffer in his character as a writer by this comparison.

Clinton’s accession to the office of governor by re-election in 1827 was attended with a most singular revolution among politicians. His ancient opponents had been divided into two parties, one of which, after having supported Mr. Crawford as a candidate for the presidency, had united with the friends of General Jackson; the other sustained the policy of the administration of Mr. Adams. Clinton had felt a preference for General Jackson, although he had taken no active part in the election, which terminated in the choice of Mr. Adams. The acts of the office-holders of the general government and of the personal friends of Mr. Adams left him no alternative but to avow his preference, and he was thus placed in the position of a leader, and the most prominent personage of a party which was, in a great measure, made up of his most constant and bitter opponents. On the other hand, the masonic question had resulted in the organization of a party, many of whose members were drawn from among the most steady supporters of his policy, which was opposed to the election of Jackson.

The triumph which speedily followed in the election of General Jackson to the presidency, appeared to open new views of ambition to Clinton. It was generally believed that the new president would have called him to a distinguished position in his cabinet, and that Clinton would not, on this occasion, have declined the invitation. In this station he would have been placed as the most prominent candidate for the succession. This new opportunity for the exercise of his talents in the service of his country was not vouchsafed him. It might be a matter of curious speculation to conjecture how far the acceptance by Clinton to a place in the cabinet would have influenced the course of General Jackson’s administration; and how long two men, equally determined in the support of the measures they considered to be proper, could have remained in amicable relations. It can now be seen that many of the measures of General Jackson’s administration were in opposition to the avowed opinions of Clinton, while in others he would have cordially united.

He would probably, also, have striven to moderate the excessive zeal by which principles in themselves correct were carried by that energetic man beyond the verge of expediency; and there can be little doubt that he would have been able to exercise an influence for good, which was possessed by none of his subsequent advisers. Such speculations are, however, futile; for it is now known that he had determined to decline office under the new administration, not, as he said, from any want of regard to General Jackson, but because he considered his station as governor of New-York by the election of the people more honourable than any appointment in the gift of the general government.

Clinton’s message to the Legislature in 1827 contains the announcement of the final and complete triumph of the canal policy of the state. He had the gratification to announce that the tolls of the preceding year had amounted to seven hundred and seventy thousand dollars, or to nearly twice the amount of the interest on the debt contracted for the construction of the canals; while the whole revenue of the fund amounted to upward of a million. With this decided proof of the success of internal improvements conducted on the part of the state, Clinton presses upon the Legislature the propriety of aiding in other undertakings, and, in some instances, of assuming them for the public account. He more particularly refers to the projected road through the southwestern tier of counties. In respect to this, he declares that he is willing to encounter his full share of the responsibility of the measure he recommends.

Among other important points in this message, he recommends corrections in the criminal code, and gives instances where it is of an oppressive and unjust character, as well as unequal in its operation.

Of these recommendations, that in relation to the road through the southwestern counties is the most important. Investigations held subsequently, and the improvements made in the construction of railroads, have satisfied the parties interested in this improvement that it can be better effected by means of a railway than by a common road. In this view of the subject, Clinton would in all probability have concurred; and there can be no doubt that he would have urged with all his influence the construction of this railroad by the state. The Legislature has been of a different opinion, and the construction of the road has been intrusted to an incorporated company. All the evils which Clinton anticipated from this act have followed. The probable profits are not sufficient to attract a sufficient amount of capital; the stock, although subscribed, has not been paid up; and the project must either be abandoned, or the state must assume the responsibility of constructing it.

In the summer of 1827 Clinton made a tour through Connecticut, and parts of the states of New-Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. He was received throughout not only with the distinction due to his rank as governor of the State of New-York, but with the enthusiasm excited by his services in the cause of internal improvement. While it was impossible that any feeling could exist in these states at all approaching to the regard and gratitude with which he was regarded by many of the citizens of New-York, he, on the other hand, was spared the pain of meeting those who looked upon him as an obstacle to their plans of partisan aggrandizement. His journey was therefore attended with unmingled feelings of gratification.

Towards the close of the same year Clinton was attacked by a disorder to all appearance slight. It, however, resisted all the efforts of medicine, and finally deprived him of life. In consequence of the incapacity for taking the quantity of exercise to which he had been previously accustomed, his life had become in a great measure sedentary, and his constitution no longer possessed the power of throwing off the causes which might produce disease. The form of a mere cold, which the disorder at first assumed, appeared to furnish no cause for anxiety; but it pressed upon him by slow and insidious steps. The powers of his mind hardly appear to have been affected; and, while he sustained some feelings of bodily uneasiness, he was yet able to apply himself to his official duties. Among the very last events of his life is a letter addressed to one of the circuit judges, in reference to an act that came properly within his cognizance as governor, which is distinguished by all the clearness and ability of his most vigorous days.

The disorder took the form of a dropsy of the chest, affecting in an especial degree the heart and lungs. His death was without warning, and while his friends anticipated no immediate danger. It took place on the 11^th of February, 1828, in the presence of his eldest son, who acted as his private secretary. He had taken a drive in the morning, visited the Capitol, and transacted business as usual. In the afternoon he wrote up his diary, and perused all the letters received by the evening mails, and was thus engaged until within a few minutes of his death.

Although his danger was not feared by his family, he himself was fully aware of the approach of his last hour. His friend Dr. Hosack, who, while he resided in New-York, had been his physician, visited him in Albany, and felt it his duty to communicate how precarious his position was, and that his disease must soon terminate fatally. Sustained by a well-founded religious belief, and the consciousness of a well-spent life, he replied that he "was not afraid to die," and the portentous announcement produced no apparent change in his cheerfulness, or alteration in his attention to the public business.

His countenance underwent no change in death; there was no struggle or convulsion; the colour of his cheeks was unchanged; and his departure was as quiet as if he had dropped asleep.

The death of no person ever produced a greater and more general expression of sorrow throughout the whole state, and in a great portion of the Union.

The feelings of party animosity, which had pursued him through life, and which had not altogether abated, ceased at once. All classes, ranks, and factions joined in deploring his loss, at the moment when his services were as much needed as they had ever been, and when he appeared to be more than ever capable of rendering them. The citizens, in public meetings in all the cities of the state; the Legislature, which was in session at the time, and the municipal corporations, united in the expression of a heartfelt sorrow.

The history of Clinton imbodies that of the parties which have agitated the State of New-York from the close of the war of the Revolution. The existence of two opposing factions seems to be inseparable from the nature of free government, and their balance may be almost essential to its existence. Furious as have been the contests in words, and inveterate as have been the personal hostilities that have in some cases been generated, it is a favourable augury for the stability of our institutions, that, since the adoption of the federal Constitution, no question has been agitated having any real bearing upon the great principles on which the government is founded. The long contest of the federal and democratic parties was grounded in a great degree upon foreign policy, however loudly the one party was charged with maintaining aristocratic, and the other of a tendency to disorganizing principles. Since that time, personal preferences, and the contest for places of emolument, have been, in general, the springs of political action. It has thus happened, that, from the moment the old federal party fell to pieces, the distinctions of party have ceased; and the same men have been seen alternately caressed and proscribed by the coalition calling themselves the old democratic party. It has been no agreeable task to hunt up the records of political changes. Clinton was by them made, as has been seen, alternately the idol and the proscribed of the dominant party; and in it have figured his ancient federal opponents, as well as his original democratic allies. For himself, he was separated at an early period from the mass of politicians, who pursue their vocation principally for the purpose of their own aggrandizement. One favourite object, the improvement of the internal navigation of the state, furnished him with a mark for his aspirations which distinguished him from the vulgar herds of faction. No man was a warmer and more active partisan than himself; but his most violent denunciations of his opponents had one redeeming quality – they were intended to aid in the triumph of the policy whence the state has received so much benefit.

In the warmth of his political feelings he not infrequently committed the mistake of supposing those who opposed him from personal feelings, or in the hope of acquiring ascendency from his downfall, to be influenced by motives of less creditable description; while, on the other hand, he in some instances overrated the capacity of those who remained his steadfast friends both in good and evil report. The warmth of his temperament, which made him a strenuous friend, or an active but generous enemy, rendered him at times the advocate of those who little merited his support, and placed him in active opposition to some who, from similarity of views on the great question of internal improvements, were fitted to be the most useful partisans of the measures in which he took so strong an interest.

Clinton’s person, in his youth and early manhood, was remarkable for its masculine beauty, and, as years advanced, assumed a majestic character. His stature was upward of six feet, straight, and finely proportioned. His eyes were a dark hazel, approaching to black, and highly expressive; his hair brown; his complexion clear, and more florid than usual among Americans; his teeth fine, giving a peculiar grace to his smile; his nose slightly aquiline. His habits of reflection and close study were marked in the ordinary expression of his countenance, which, controlled at an early period of his life to the gravity becoming the magistrate and the senator, presented an appearance of seriousness almost approaching to austerity. When speaking in public, however, his face expressed, with the utmost flexibility, the varying emotions to which his words gave vent; while in the intercourse of private life and in familiar conversation, the gravity, which rested on his features when not excited, gave way on occasion to playfulness and mirth.

His portraits, which were painted by many of our best artists, and his bust by Brouwere, exhibit, in almost all cases, the expression of gravity and reflection. They thus give little idea of the more agreeable lineaments of his countenance.

He was as exemplary in his private relations as he was distinguished in public life – a good and affectionate husband; and kind and judicious father; a friend who in many cases sacrificed his own interests in order to benefit those who were faithful to him. No shade of suspicion, in all the vituperation which was showered on him by political adversaries, was ever cast on his moral character.

Although reserved in his manner in mixed societies, he was playful, sportive, and cheerful in his intercourse with his children, kind, and of the most even temper. Hence his absence was always regretted by them, and his return welcomed with demonstrations of joy.

He was an early riser, and generally despatched his correspondence, which was often voluminous, before he breakfasted. He thus had the remainder of the day at his disposal; and, while laborious to an extent equalled by few even of professional men, had the appearance of almost perfect leisure during the ordinary hours of business. Hence, while holding official stations, he was always accessible; and the crown of visitors which he admitted did not intrench on the strict performance of his duties.

It is one of the most remarkable features in his career, that he was never defeated in any election when the question was submitted directly to the people. The only instance in which he was an unsuccessful candidate for an elective office was that in which he was opposed to Madison as an aspirant for the presidency; and, although there is little probability that the result would have been affected by a vote not conveyed through the electoral colleges, the proposition is true to the letter

On this occasion he may have departed from his usual prudent plan of weighing well the chances before he submitted his pretensions to the people; but there were causes at work which justify his course, if brought to no other test than that of political expediency. His uncle had a short time before become aware of a project, entertained by the administration at Washington, for dismembering the State of New-York, and disappointed politicians were named who were to have been the willing instruments of this suicidal act. It therefore became necessary to show that the democratic party to the North was not in all respects subservient to the policy of Virginia, which viewed the rising greatness of New-York with distrust and jealousy.

This fact in relation to Clinton’s uniform success whenever he came before the public as candidate for an elective office, would appear to justify his declared confidence in the ultimate judgment of the majority. With this strong conviction, he appears never to have considered what would be the temporary effect of his measures, but only whether they were right in themselves, and calculated to promote the general prosperity; satisfied that, when the mists of prejudice in which they might be involved by their opponents had cleared away, his motives would be appreciated and his conduct approved. It thus happened more than once in his political life, that the outcry raised against him and his measures became so great that he appeared to have lost all favour with the public; and yet, no sooner had time for reflection been allowed, than he was elevated to the highest office in the people’s gift. On these occasions he retired from the strife of party until time had been allowed for the cool judgment of the majority to be formed, and, to the surprise of his opponents, returned anew to the political arena, and carried all before him.

Whatever errors in principle or practice he may have committed, his motives were always pure, and directed, not to the attainment of a temporary popularity, but to the great end of the public good. With more of flexibility, he might have escaped the political reverses he experienced, but he never could have risen with such irresistible strength as he exhibited in the elections of 1818 and 1826.

Violent as were the contests in which he was occasionally engaged, they seem never to have produced any rankling in his mind; and even those who had been the instruments of actual or intended injury, were readily forgiven whenever they saw and acknowledged that they had been in error. His conduct seems to have been governed by the Roman maxim of policy, "parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos."

We may cite, as an illustration of this feature of his character, his conduct to Gould and Ward. This bookselling firm had become the publishers of a pamphlet which was libellous upon his character, and his indignation was so much excited as to induce him to threaten a prosecution. No sooner, however, had they become sensible that they had been made the instruments of a false and malicious charge, and expressed their regret at the want of caution they had exhibited, than he dropped all proceedings and freely forgave them.

Numerous as were the attacks made upon him through the medium of the press, there was but one other instance in which he contemplated an appeal to a legal tribunal in vindication of his character. This was a case growing out of the antimasonic excitement. In the last year of his life he was charged with having, in his masonic capacity, sanctioned the outrage committed on Morgan. The charge was so entirely destitute of any foundation, that the libeller saw that there was no hope for justification. He therefore threw himself on the mercy of Clinton, and admitted the falsehood of the accusation. In this instance also he refrained from farther prosecution, although it is clear that he must have recovered ample damages. His only purpose was the vindication of his fame, and, that accomplished, he saw no object in persisting in the suit.

In this, as in many other cases, he showed an indifference to money. He had, in fact, no disposition to accumulate pecuniary fortune, and exhibited no talent for money-making. In the hands of one who would have made wealth his great object of pursuit, his patrimonial inheritance and the portion of his first wife might have been the basis of a great accumulation of property, while the opportunities for advantageous investment opened to him in his office of canal commissioner might, in hands less pure, have been the source of unbounded riches. In spite of these opportunities, he died in honourable poverty, and even the plate presented to him by the merchants of New-York was exposed for sale after his death.

His charities were abundant; and there were instances, when compelled by a sense of duty to refuse the petition of a mother or wife for the pardon of a son or husband, that he gave from his own purse the means of repairing, in some degree, the distress growing out of the conviction of the criminal relative.

Enough of time has elapsed since his death to make the opinions now held of him almost tantamount to the judgments of posterity. If a few of his ancient opponents remain, who cannot divest themselves of the opinions derogatory to his character which they once in sincerity entertained; and if there be others who cannot consistently disavow the expressions they uttered in the heat of party debate; the generation which is now rising, without a dissenting voice, awards to him the praise due to an enlightened and energetic magistrate, a learned and impartial judge, an honest and patriotic politician, a dignified administrator of the government. More than all, no voice is now raised to question the important share he took in originating, carrying forward, and completing the policy to which the Erie and Champlain Canals are due, while few hesitate in ascribing to him so great a degree of merit in the advancement of this policy, as to sink the services of all other persons into comparative insignificance.

However meritorious may have been the services of the subordinate agents in any great event, history rarely records any but the chief performer. We speak of the conquests of Alexander and the victories of Cæsar, without reference to the thousand of gallant soldiers and hundreds of skilful officers who aided in these exploits, and we commit no injustice; for, if led by men of less genius, the valour of the one and the tactics of the other might not have saved them from defeat.

When we contemplate the finished statue, we think not of the labourers who have torn the marble mass from the quarry, nor even of the skilful workmen who have chiseled down its superfluous parts to an approach to the figure of the clay model in which the master artist has imbodied his vivid thoughts; but to that artist who has reserved to himself no more than the final touches, we ascribe the merit of the performance. And so of the majestic temples of the Christian faith; the architect receives all our praises or undergoes our criticisms, to the exclusion of all who have been employed in the construction. When Michael Angelo uttered the sublime thought, "I will raise the Pantheon on the Temple of Peace," he imprinted a character on the basilic of St. Peter’s which the mistakes and bad taste of his successors could not impair.

To descend to arts more strictly mechanic: we never inquire, when we read the name of an Arnold on a chronometer, or of a Breguest on a watch, through what a multitude of hands the several parts of the instruments have passed, for we know that these great workmen have impressed their own style of working on the crude form in which they have received them from the manufacturers, and have combined the accessories furnished by others in such manner as no other could have identically accomplished.

Such exactly is the relation which Clinton holds towards the canal system of the State of New-York. He is the chief under whose guidance the political battle for its erection was fought; the artist who gave form and shape to the laws by which it was enacted, and the system of finance by which it was upheld; he was not the first to discern the practicability of the Erie route, but he drew the argument by which its superiority over the less expensive course to Oswego was demonstrated; finally, he was for fourteen years, from the time when the canals were first projected, until their success was beyond all possibility of doubt, the point in which all communications, partial examinations, and useful hints centred, and whence they were promulgated to the public under the sanction of his authority, adorned by the graces of his diction, and improved by the accuracy of his judgment. Foreign nations, anticipating the verdict of posterity, connect no other name but that of Clinton with the Canals of the State of New-York; and posterity itself will, beyond all question, elevate him in like manner above all others who have in any way aided in organizing and completing our canal system.

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