(wOM/WXfa ll^j «$£ ADDRESS HON. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICES BY THE Legislature of the State of New York IN HONOR OP GENERAL JAMES W. HUSTED. MARCH 28, 1883. UNI. ^ BANT BARA tX jfuf : ADDRESS BY THE Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, AT THE Memorial Services BY THE Legislature of the State of New York, IN HONOR OF GENERAL JAMES W. HUSTED, m THE Assembly Chamber, at Albany, Tuesday Evening, March 2Sth, 1893. Senators and Members of Assembly : In the fall of 1852, I stood upon the campus at Yale College, a country lad, who had just entered the freshman class. I had neither a friend nor an acquaintance in New Haven, and was utterly lone- some and homesick. A handsome young man, with brilliant eyes, a mass of wavy auburn hair, flowing down to his shoulders, and a gay, debonair way, stepped briskly up to me, and with a cordial grasp, as if we had been life-long friends, said, "my name is Husted, I am a Junior, and we are both from Westchester County." This was the beginning of our attachment, which remained unbroken amid all the wonderful changes and vicissitudes of the future, and ripened and deepened with time, until our relations were ended by the death of General Husted, forty years afterwards. The undergraduate was then developing the qualities which were the elements of his success. He was not a close student, but very active in the work of the literary societies. He was not a factor of importance in the compe- tition for scholastic honors, but he was a potential force in college politics. He cared little who was to be the valedictorian, but was uncommonly anxious to be the leader of his class. He was an excellent classical scholar, and always kept up his easy familiarity with Latin and Greek, but believed with Pope, that " The proper study of mankind is man." Like all the men who have risen to distinction in our country, he was compelled to work from the start, and without other assistance, than his own industry and ability, make his own career. His remarkable power of lucid explanation made him an admirable teacher. The Academy which he taught after leaving college, to secure the means 3 for prosecuting his law studies, never had a better principal, and he continued to teach until his ad- mission to the Bar. He leaped into the political arena as soon as he received his diploma, and had won the respect and recognition of the county leaders before he began practising his profession. He was faithful to the trusts which he assumed either as teacher or lawyer, or business man, but his models were the statesmen of the country, and his ambitions and aspirations were for public life. It was thirty-eight years from his graduation until his death, and as School Commissioner, Deputy Superintendent of the Insurance Department, Har- bor Master, Deputy Captain of the Port, Emigra- tion Commissioner, and Member of the Legislature, he was for thirty-five years in responsible positions in our State Government. But he was also, during this active and busy period, Judge Advocate of the Seventh Brigade, Major General of the Fifth Division of the National Guard, and Grand Master of the Masonic Fraternity of the State of New York. He served twenty-two terms in the House of As- sembly, and was six times its Speaker, a record un- equalled, either in length of service, or in the num- ber of elections as Presiding Officer of the popular branch of the Legislature, in the history of the State. He grasped intuitively the conditions in his district, and possessed endless fertility of resource and audacity for attack. In the quickness of his movements and combinations he resembled General Sheridan, and the suddeness and brilliancy of his assault was like a cavalry charge of Murat' s. While still a law student, he upset tlie calculations and defeated the plans of the veteran party managers, and by a creation and coalition as original as it was bold, carried the Third District of Westchester and elected himself School Commissioner. Rock- land County had always been a Democratic strong- hold. It was in the same Senatorial and Congress- ional District as Westchester, and General Husted had frequently canvassed it and was thoroughly familiar with its people. After he had served nine terms in the Assembly from Westchester County, the Republicans of Rockland invited him to come over and lead the forlorn hope. His quick eye detected a division in the apparently solid ranks of the enemy. He accepted the nomination in Rock- land for Member of Assembly, and to the surprise of the State and the country, carried the county twice. He thus accomplished a doubly difficult task, first in overcoming a majority which had always been overwhelmingly against his party, and secondly in succeeding against the strong local pre- judices which always exist in our constituencies against a candidate who is not a resident of the district. It would greatly strengthen and improve our pub- lic life if this custom was more elastic. No matter how able or useful a representative may be, no mat- ter how valuable to good government, or to the posi- tion and poAver of his party, his political career is dependent upon the accidents in the district where he may happen to reside. If constituencies could and would choose from candidates without regard to residence, men like Mr. Blaine or Mr. Thurman would always be in their proper places, leading their respective parties, and giving their genius for affairs and ripe experience to the service of their country. The statesman who had been beaten by a nobody upon some local issue could find a constituency devoted to national questions which, would gladly return him, and have pride in the fame of their member. General Husted entered the field of State politics at a time when an old dynasty was crumbling to pieces. New York has been singular in the domina- tion of her great parties by individuals or cliques. They have alw r ays been arbitrary and autocratic, and often tyrannical. It is said of a Parliamentary dis- trict in London, which will always give a larger ma- jority for a titled candidate than for a commoner, that Marylebone dearly loves a lord. So our State for more than half a century has shown a decided preference for what partisans call a leader, and the public a boss. Power is exercised, either in the rec- ognition and promotion of ability, or in a merciless crusade against talent and ambition, and the ruth- less slaughter of independent thought or action. In the one case the party grows in strength and op- portunity, and in the other it falls finally into the 6 hands of a diminishing number until the hardships of defeat have restored its vitality and vigor. Edwin Crosswell and the Albany Argus had ruled the Democratic Party for a long time, and Thurlow Weed had controlled the Whig, and afterwards the Republican Party, for more than thirty years. There was little opportunity for young men in either organization, and revolts against the leaders were be- coming more frequent and formidable. The alliance between Seward, Weed and Greeley, which had ex- ercised such a powerful and historical influence upon the affairs of both the state and nation, had been dissolved by the retirement of the junior member. Roscoe Conkling and Reuben E. Fen ton were fight- ing the machine and denouncing machine rule and machine methods with a force and eloquence which have never been equalled. The subsequent position of both these exceedingly able and successful men on this question, is a remarkable illustration of the irony of political evolution. Young men usually find that where the party is cliqued, the only way to secure favors or recognition is by making the leaders fear them. But in as- sociations formed by such considerations there is neither faith nor fidelity. Thurlow Weed main- tained his supremacy for a generation because of the wisdom and liberality of his methods. The rule usually is to repel assistance, especially from strong men, because of jealousy, and also on the principle, that the more numerous the victors the more minute is the division of the spoils. Mr. Weed, for the greater part of his long reign, was constantly re- cruiting his forces. When a young man displayed conspicuous ability, either in the Legislature, or State Convention, or upon the platform, his ac- quaintance was sought and his friendship gained, This constant replacement of losses, and strength- ening of his organization with fresh and vigorous members, made him invincible for a generation. Horace Greeley was unequalled as a partisan editor, but he could not contest the leadership with Thur- low Weed. He was a great thinker and writer, but the weakest, and most uncertain of political cap- tains. He was so vacillating in his movements, and so credulous in his judgment of men, that his selec- tion of lieutenants was often unfortunate, and some- times whimsical. In the last years of Mr. Weed's active control of the party, he changed his policy. The able men who had acted with, and under him so long, fearing the vigorous youth, who were forg- ing to the front, aroused his distrust of these push- ing ambitions. The result was first revolt, 'and then revolution within the party, and next its defeat in the State. Independence of thought and action have unre- strained opportunity when a party is in the minority. Rewards and punishments are no longer factors in caucusses or conventions, and influence is proportioned to merit. It was some years after the fall of Thurlow Weed, before the 8 party found a new leader. During this period, a number of young men, of brilliant ability and great promise, came prominently before the public. Many of them disappeared afterwards, either los- ing their constituencies, or being crushed out by some one of the subsequent machines. General Husted was one of the few, out of the many pro- ducts of the period of party liberty, who survived all the accidents of warring and changing factions. He was more frequently in opposition to, than in accord with, the machine. As one was broken and another constructed, he would still find himself antagonized by it. He had views and would ex- press them, and he wanted reasons before he would obey orders. These qualities made him objection- able to the leaders as they severally came into power. They repeatedly thwarted his ambitions for State office, and for Federal appointments, but were able only once to dislodge him in his district. They tried to beat him by third candidates, they endeavored to defeat his nominations by capturing his friends with places in the Custom House and the Post Office, and on several occasions, prefer- ring a Democrat to a Republican they could not absolutely control, they furnished secret but sub- stantial support to his opponent. But nothing could shake his hold upon his people. They knew him, and he knew them. He saw the power of Thurlow Weed pass away, he held his own during the brief sway of Horace 9 Greeley, he kept his position under the rule of Reuben E. Fenton, and the mastery of Roscoe Conkling, and notwithstanding all the kaleido- scopic changes following the retirement of Senator Conkling, he died as he had lived for twenty-two years, still Member of Assembly for the Third Dis- trict of Westchester. General Husted's tact, tal- ents, and unselfish desire to be useful, made him the selected Mend in the House of Assembly of every Governor of the State, no matter what the politics of the Executive. Hoffman, Dix, Tilden, Robinson, Cornell, Cleveland, Hill, and Flower, were successively the Chief Magistrates of the Commonwealth during General Husted's service in the Legislature, and with each of them his relations were close and cordial. He was above small partisanship and cheap politics. He be- lieved the Governor of the State of New York occupied a large place, and that the Legislature should do all in its power to enable him to sustain its dignity. On strictly party measures, he would always act with his party. But a Governor can be annoyed or assisted in numberless ways, which affect only his personal comfort and legitimate powers. In such cases, if the Republicans were in the majority in the Legislature, Husted was the Governor's most efficient friend, and if the Demo- crats were in power, he was still the most import- ant factor in the Capitol. Those who wanted to get revenge because some bill had been vetoed, or an 10 appointment to office had not been made, and those who thought it good politics to cramp the con- veniences of help, or material for the Executive Chamber, or the Executive Mansion, found in the General an alert, able and generally successful enemy. Governor Tilden's fame and career de- pended upon his carrying through the Assembly, while he was a member, his resolution for the im- peachment of the ring judges. And yet he would have failed, except for the assistance and consum- mate parliamentary skill of the member from Westchester. Mr. Tilden never forgot this service, and tried in after years in many ways to show his appreciation and gratitude. He thonght that Busted, from his associations and intimacies, would join the Greeley movement, which might peril his political future, and at great inconvenience and trouble, he conveyed early information to the General of the Re|)ublican victory in North Caro- lina, which virtually decided the contest against the editor of the Tribune. Our departed friend saw, as no other public man has been permitted to observe, the triumphs and defeats, the hopes and disappointments,the joys and sorrows, the realities and the romance of political careers. Every conspicuous figure in either party during the past quarter of a century has been his associate and his friend. I have referred to his rela- tions with the men who received the honors, and at times controlled the organization of the Republican 11 party in our state. But lie was with Tilden when that statesmen was hovering between fame and obli- vion, and enjoyed his familiar intimacy and confi- dence during his gubernatorial term. As a veteran leader in the Assembly, he witnessed the meteoric advent of Mr. Cleveland in Albany, and divined the power which has developed such phenomenal strength in the state and in the country. He was serving his fourth term in the Legislature, when a member from Chemung, then scarcely known be- yond the boundaries of his county, began a career which has harvested the Lieutenant-Governorship and Chief Magistracy of our State, and United States Senator, and made David B. Hill a potent force in the counsels of his party. Speakers of the Assembly George B. Sloan and George H. Sharpe, Titus Sheard and George Z. Erwin, Fremont Cole and William F. Sheehan, Robert P. Bush and Will- iam Sulzer, were not only his associates, but they were his pupils and prize winners in parliamentary law. There is no talent more common than the ability to speak, and none more rare than the gift of speak- ing so as to command the attention and substantial assent of the audience. The ordinary talker in a deliberative body kills time and murders patience, irritates the indifferent and tires his friends. Real debating power is a gift, as brilliant as it is useful. It does not consist in elaborate effort, in the length of the speech, in superiority of logic, grace of die- 12 tion, or rhetorical finish. Any or all of these may prove a detriment, though, with the master, they are tools to be used, or not, as the occasion may re- quire. Many a massive structure, which the orator has spent hours in erecting, has been demolished, and has buried its author under its ruins, by the dynamite of a ten minutes speech. Legislatures fear bores and resent pedagogues. They love good fighters and hard hitters. Like veteran troops, they do not want to be instructed, but to be led. They may sleep through a ponderous oration of Charles Sumner, and rise with delight to greet an incisive sarcasm of Thaddeus Stevens. There are occasions when a labored effort is necessary to outline or de- fend a policy, or to appeal to the party or the coun- try. But in the exigencies of daily discussion, it is the crisp, lucid and direct debater who carries, or defeats measures. The skillful parliamentarian knows instinctively the temper of the House. His greatest triumphs are in humoring its moods. No member was ever more complete master of this art than General Husted. No member ever passed or defeated so many bills. His speeches were rarely a half an hour in length, and most of them not over ten minutes. He captured the attention of the Assembly with his first sentence, and had its ap- proval before he closed. He was not speaking for posterity, but to carry his point. The debate would drag wearily on. The impatient House would have listened to the dry statistician, and the dreary logi- 13 cian, to the spread eagle orator careering among the constellations, colliding with the planets and strew- ing the floor with star dust, and to the exhaustive and exhausting essayist with whom all arguments are alike important, and the quantity of whose mat- ter obscures its quality. Suddenly, a ringing voice, shouting "Mr. Speaker," would rouse everyone, like an electric shock. The flashing eyes of the Bald Eagle of Westchester would cast a sweeping glance about the Chamber, and arrest universal attention. The weak positions taken by his enemy would be quickly turned, the reasons for his side as quickly and succinctly stated, a burst of humor would give the laugh of friends and enemies alike, to one ad- versary, and a biting sarcasm to the delight of the audience, pierce another, and the tired and impa- tient House, hailing him as their deliverer, would follow his lead. He was the friend and protector of young mem- bers. Few positions are more difficult and embar- rassing than those of a new member, whose consti- tuency have elected him to pass certain measures. He is ignorant alike of the rules of the Assembly, and of Jefferson's Manual. He soon finds himself lost in a labyrinth from which he can neither ex- tricate himself or his bills. He is in despair be- tween his impotency at the Capitol, and his waning prestige and popularity at home. His colleagues, as a rule, are too much absorbed in their own mat- ters to heed or care for his. The veteran member 14 from Westchester was ever watchful for such signs of distress. Even while the House was smiling at the bungling efforts of the proposer of the bill, or derisively laughing at his mistakes, a masterhand would take hold of the measure, and its easy and uninterrupted movement would seem inspired by the wand of a magician. The hostility of his party leaders would often consign him to minor places on the committees, and the rear rank among his associates, and yet before the session was half over, his unequalled talent on the floor, and the devoted following of new members whom he had assisted or rescued, would put him in his proper place, and make the leaders, temporarily at least, his suppliants. He was so fair a political opponent, and always so ready to cheerfully help members of the other party on matters which were not partisan, that they were only too glad to reciprocate when occasion offered. This assistance was of great service to him in several crises of his career. There were times when it might have been good politics for the Democrats to have joined with the organization of his own party to crush the General out. But they never did. When the question related solely to his per- sonal fortunes, and his position in the House, they did what he asked, and often followed his lead in those sudden and audacious assaults upon his ad- versaries which totally routed them, and scored for him a significant individual victory. 15 And yet this dashing fighter, this fierce cavalier, this most reckless and daring of combatants, was incapable of harboring or retaining an enmity. He never knew the feeling, which is the luxury of some natures, of hate. If he had not been so buoyant, supremely hopeful, aud sincere, he might justly have been charged with regarding politics as a game, with the gambler's admiration for the winner, and sympathy for the loser. He was a thorough partisan, and during all his life did yeoman's service for his party. He could not understand why dif- ferences of political faith, or policy, should lead to personal enmities. The most childish, and the most frequent exhibition of spleen among politi- cians, is that of the man in your own, or the oppo- sition party with whom you have a disagreement growing out of purely political affairs, who there- after withdraws from you the honor of his recog- nition or acquaintance. It shows both the vulnerable places in that statesman's armor, and an apprecia- tion by himself of his nod, absurdly disproportionate to its value. It is a practice, which so grows by indulgence, that its proud possessor is sometimes himself in doubt whether the person he meets may not be on his list of the excommunicated, and groping helplessly in the Cimmerian darkness which envelops all those whose atmosphere is' not illu- mined by his approving smile. It was never neces- sary for General Husted to consult a memorandum book before he spoke to a man. He cordially greeted 16 everybody, and that one the most warmly with whom he had the last battle. If he was worsted, he was the first to compliment his adversary upon his victory, and if he was himself the victor, he doubly disarmed his enemy by the generosity of his treatment. He loved to gather about his hospitable table his legislative, or party opponents, and dis- cuss the fields they had fought, the feints, the assaults, the retreats, the false movements, the mis- taken manoeuvres, and recount with hilarious glee, the unexpected stroke which had turned the flank of the enemy, and won the day. Those who have never been in public life, or active in politics, know nothing of their exquisite pleasures, and keen disappointments. It is the compensations of a career which make life worth the living. If it was all joy, or all sorrow, there would be nothing in it. The politician is always either in paradise or purgatory, and he is ever struggling to stay in the one sphere, or to get out of the other. The intensity and strain, the uncer- tainties and accidents of pjolitics make possible the warmest attachments among politicians. This is specially true between those of opposite faith. They fight only on broad lines, and are free from the irritations of faction feuds. They generously appreciate the good qualities and abilities, each of the other, and are bound together in bonds of closest friendship. General Husted was peculiarly feli- citous in making, and happy in retaining these 17 relations. His most ardent admirers, and steadfast friends were to be found among the leaders of the opposition. It was the chivalrous spirit and actions of the man which won the applause and affections of his political foes. There were few deeper or more sincere mourners at his funeral than those whom he had conquered, or been defeated by, on many a fair field, and in many a fair fight. The legislature, and its popular Assembly, con- centrate the attention of the people much more than the executive or the judicial branches of free government. The representatives are in closer re- lations with the constituencies. It is from the lower house, as a rule, that the highest honors are at- tained. Five of General Husted's colleagues have been Governors, two of them United States Sena- tors, three Lieutenant Governors, eighteen State officers, fourteen have been members of Congress, twelve have been elevated to the Bench, and many have served with distinction in important positions under the Federal Government. There is a pecu- liar fascination about the three chief positions in a deliberative body. The speaker, the leader of the House, and the leader of the opposition, are the great men of the hour, and have rare opportunities for permanent fame. The very few whose names we can recall in our century of Congressional life, who have attained distinction in any of these posi- tions, indicate how rare is parliamentary ability of the first order ; and the limited number who were 18 eminent in all three Departments, illustrate the genius required to fill them. A successful leader of the House may prove a poor general for the op- position, and be a total failure as a Speaker. We have, as yet, produced but two statesmen who were conspicuously great, and unequalled both on the floor, and as presiding officers, Henry Clay and James G. Blaine. The judicial impartiality of the Chair, and the blind partisanship of the floor, re- quire experience, and qualities so distinct, and antagonistic, that their possession rarely appears more than once in a generation. There have been some, but not many, who excelled General Husted as a leader of the House, and some, but not many who surpassed him as a leader of the opposition, but not even Clay or Blaine were his superiors as a Presiding Officer. The celerity with which he would unravel a tangle of cumulative, and contra- dictory motions and amendments, the certainty of his positions, the clearness and directness of his decisions, and the ability with which he brought order out of chaos, and quieted the most disorderly and tumultuous assemblage, were strokes of genius. He never made a mistake which he could not cor- rect, and never a misstep from which he could not instantly land on firmer ground. It well repaid a visit to the Capitol to see Speaker Husted preside. The gratification of wit- nessing an important thing done perfectly, is almost as great as to do it oneself. The artistic 19 instinct is universal, and all enjoy the work of a master artist. Some member would be occupying the chair temporarily. The House would be in con- fusion, and many members shouting at the same time for recognition would stop business. Angry altercations would be going on in the aisles, and in front of the desk. The chairman would pound with his gavel, and threaten to hand the more ob- streperous members into the custody of the Ser- geant-at-Arms, only to be either unnoticed or laughed at. Suddenly would sound through the Chamber a sharp rap, succeeded by another and more emphatic one. Silence would instantly fol- low. The Speaker would peremptorily order that members take their seats, then instantly utilizing the breathless silence, he would either end the wrangle by a decision which no one dared question, or recognize the member whom he knew could hold the floor, or direct the Clerk to proceed with the regular order. The transformation, from riot to business, was because the leader had resumed the chair, and the House bowed submissive to its master. No one but he, at least at Albany, has ever been able to make the gavel talk. He won his greatest triumphs in the closing days of the session. This is always a critical period for the Speaker, and a time full of peril to the State, and the reputation of the Legislature. Party bills have been kept behind to avoid the scrutiny of the opposition, and bad bills held in reserve, in the 20 hope of passing them during the confusion of the last hours. The lobby is alert and audacious, and the speculators in legislation both inside and out- side the Legislature, are exhausting the resources of cunning, and testing the elasticity of the rules to pass their bills, their resolutions and their schemes. It is the work of the week of adjournment which has at times done incalcula- ble injury to the Commonwealth, and rendered some sessions infamous. Here is the Speaker's op- portunity and his danger. He will either guide the House, or the House will ride rough shod over him. General Husted was thoroughly familiar with the history and needs of the State. He made himself acquainted with the bills which were pending, both in Senate and Assembly. He knew the inside of all the conspiracies and com- binations, and through the veneer of alleged pub- lic interests saw the strike, and behind the mask of a fraudulent reformer, the striker. Business would proceed with the rapidity of lightning, and the dazed members be either frantic, or paralyzed in the whirl of motions, speeches, reports and roll calls. There was in that maddened throng one cool, supreme, controlling mind. With a skill, which was like necromancy, and a daring which silenced dissent, he sifted the mass pouring from the hopper of committees, and sub -committees, and dropped the bad out of its order, and sent the good through. 21 From 1869, when General Husted was first elected to the Legislature, and including 1892 when he died, has been a most eventful period in the his- tory of the Nation, and of our State. It runs from Grant's first, to Cleveland's second election, and from Hoffman to Flower. It is fruitful of popular revulsions, and revivals of prosperity. It is rich in materials for the historian, the political econ- omist, and the political philosopher. It has been singularly full of, and remarkably fatal to great men, and powerful organizations. The re-election of General Grant, and the tragedy which clouded the mighty brain, and ended the eventful life of Horace Greeley ; the threatening clouds of revolu- tion which hovered over the claims of Samuel J. Tilden, and their dispersion by the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes ; the political revolution against the organization which ended in the nomi- nation of Garfield, and the loss of its fruits by his assassination ; the dynamic and romantic events which made Cleveland President, and the receding tide which carried Harrison into the White House, and the electoral results which after thirty-two years, have changed the politics and policy of the National Government by Mr. Cleveland's second election, with the Senate and House of Representa- tives behind him ; these, and the great financial and industrial measures which have had such potent influence upon the welfare of our country, are the national milestones of these wonderful years. 22 The rapid rise and rough destruction of the forces which made Hoffman Governor ; the patri- otic combination which gave a hundred thousand majority to General Dix ; the rising tide against corruption in the State and City of New York, which carried Tilden to the Executive chair ; the easy succession of Lucius Robinson, and the reclamation of the Stale by Alonzo B. Cornell ; the protest against federal and machine dictation which gave Cleveland nearly two hundred thou- sand majority, and the more recent contests which ended in the elections of Hill and Flower ; and the struggles and their issues which are fruitful of bitter controversy for a generation to come, form the most varied, eventful and interesting chapter in the history of our Commonwealth. It will ever remain the unique distinction of General Husted that, though subject to the ordeal of an annual election, he held place and power during this " Wreck of matter and crush of worlds." As a Legislator, he favored all political, moral and social reforms. On such questions he rose above party considerations. He fearlessly advo- cated the suffrage for women. He was the most efficient friend of the Union Soldier. His best efforts, and most effective speeches, were for high license, or other wise regulations of the liquor traffic, for the protection of the American Sunday, 23 for religious toleration in legislation, and for better and more humane care of the afflicted and unfor- tunate who are the wards of the State. Through all his varied career he cared nothing for yesterday, did his best for to-day, and was confident of to-morrow. The rainbow of hope always spanned his sky. The elasticity of his temperament was the marvel of those who were intimate with him. He knew defeat, but had no comprehension of despair. He saw in misfortunes which others regarded as calamities, a providential interposition that he might reap richer rewards in some other direction. Faith, hope and charity were the mainsprings of his thoughts and actions. He set a very high value upon political honors, and had a low estimate of wealth. Conversations which are so frequent in all circles and at most gatherings, concerning schemes for making fortunes, or the fabulous success of lucky individuals, would neither interest nor detain him ; but he would travel a thousand miles on an hour's notice to perform a public duty, or attend an important meeting of political leaders. He knew little about Wall street or the combinations which, if successful, accumulate sudden wealth ; but he loved to talk with farmers about their affairs, and with workingmen about their interests. If some omnipotent power had offered him the choice be- tween being the richest man in the world or Gover- nor of the State of New York — with the certainty of having a narrow income for the rest of his life 24 after retiring from office — he would unhesitatingly have chosen the governorship. He believed in himself and his surroundings. He felt that others had environments covered by the same general no- menclature, but that no one ever lived who pos- sessed so gifted and good a wife, such dutiful and promising children, such worthy and devoted friends, and moved amidst such happy and satis- factory conditions. He never did an injury to any man, but he helped hundreds to positions of profit and trust. Fully one-quarter of his time was devoted to assisting the young or the unfor- tunate, and his name is heard in the grateful prayers of numberless households. Patriotic public servant and useful citizen, faith- ful friend and charming companion, the State which honored him, and which he honored, has enrolled him on the list of her distinguished sons, and we, the Governor, the State officers, the mem- bers of Senate and Assembly, and people in pri- vate station, who knew and loved him, will ever cherish his memory, feeling that our lives are better and brighter because he entered into them. Dear old friend, hail and farewell ! EDWIN C. LOCKWOOD, STEAM PAINTER, NO. 68 PINE STREET, NEW YORK.