LETTEKS 
 
 ^ MASONRY AND ANTI-MASONRY, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO THE 
 
 HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 
 
 BY WILiLrlAM li. STOHTE. 
 
 What I knaw to be true, that I will declare ; and what I feel it to be my duty to re- 
 present, that I will have tlie boldness to publish."— Timothy PiCKEaiNO. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 O. HALSTED, CORNER OF NASSAU AND CEDAR- STREETS. 
 
 1832. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1832, by O. 
 Halsted, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States 
 for the Southern District of New- York, in the Second Circuit. 
 
 R0BKRT80N, PRINT. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 LETTER I. 
 Introductory— Glance at the recent state of Political Parties— Origin of Anti-masonry— Pre- 
 liminary view of the Excitement, f^" Erratum.— hast line but one, in the last sen- 
 tence of this letter, for" inhabitants," read ^' institutions.^^ 
 
 LETTER IL 
 Speculative Free-masonry— Author's initiation into the Degree of Entered Apprentice- 
 Feelings of disappointment— Emblems and lessons of the Degree— Fellow Craft's De- 
 gree—Pleasing solemnity of the opening— Regularity and order of the Lodge— Refutation 
 of charges of riotous carousals— Emblems and instructions of the Degree. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Freemasonry continued— Sublime Degree of Master Mason— Affecting Ritual— Ceremonies 
 and emblems— Shdkspeare— A striking coincidence— This a favorite degree— Absurdity 
 of its history— Its legends an imposture— Opinion of Grand Master Dalcho— Of Profes- 
 sor rftuart— Dramatic character of its action— Dangerous tendency of its obligations- 
 Grand hailing sign — Alexander and Judas Maccabeus. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 Freemasonry continued— Mark Master's degree— Belongs to the fellow-craft— More than 
 three degrees prohibited by law in England — The same in Scotland^Causes of multipli- 
 cation of dejirees— Opening ofa M;irk Lodge— Its ceremonies— Scriptural allegory— Its 
 application- Degree of Past Master— Its ceremonies— Awkward predicament— Lecture 
 and charge of this degree. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 Freemasonry continued— Degree of Most Excellent Master— Its ceremonies— Dedication of 
 the temple — Solomon's prayer— Locke — Disputed manuscript ot Henry VI. — Exaltation 
 to the degree nf Royal Arch— Reasons lor persevering— History and traditions on which it 
 is founded — Josiah — Hilkiah — Huldah — Josephus — Ezra— Zerubbabel, &c. — Introduction 
 of the candidate— Kmblems— Scenic Representations- Decorations — Attractive pagean- 
 try—Absurdity of its legends— Real history of the degree— Edward Charles Stuart— lllu- 
 minism— Mistake of Abbe Barruel- Introduction of the Royal Arch into America — M. 
 Hayes— The Duke of Orleans— Scotch Masonry— Knight of St. Andrew, 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Degrees of Knighthond— Royal and Pelect Masters— The ineffable degrees— French Ma- 
 gonry—Inftlelity— Knight of Red Cross— Its history— Court of Darius— Apocryphal le- 
 gend — Imposing scenic representations — Knights of Malta — Shipwreck of Paul — Hospi- 
 tallers-'Knights ol' St. John — Of Rliodes— History— Raymond De Puy — d' Aubresson — 
 The Templars— History of the order— Hugo de Paganis— Instituted during the Crusades— 
 Philipthe Fair— Clement V.— Order suppressed— French Templars— Anti-christian—j\'ot 
 so with the American— Solemn and affecting ceremonies, 
 
 LETTER VIL 
 
 Examination of the nature of the masonic obligations— Bernard's Light— Old manuscript- 
 Misrepresentation answered— The nature of masonic secrets — What they really are — Se- 
 cresy and silence virtues— The binding force of promises — Dr. Paley— Interpolations in 
 the obligations — ObliRations properly understood, not inconsistent with the laws of God 
 and man— Charges and explanations— Objec'.ious to extra-judicial oaths— Pritchard's re- 
 A'elations— Allthe penalties unmeaning. 
 
 \ 
 
 Ml813a3 
 
JV CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 fiapjd sKeul) of the history of Freemasonry— FondneP5? even of Republicans for the merit of 
 aiiiiquily— Anderson's history— Antediluvian Masonry— From the flood to the buildin!! of 
 Solomon's temple— Ridiculous absurdity of these pretens^ions—Lawrie's history— Egyp- 
 tian priesls — Ionian architects — Language of Symbols- Epicureans— Eleusin^an mysteries — • 
 Kn^idran Hiysieries — Pyiha<:oreans — The Essenes— Geiman notions of Masonry — Clemen- 
 tinian ci>n!'ed«Mtrs — ur. Dalcho's opuiion ot the absurdity of claiming David, Solomon, 
 and the two Johns, as JMasoiis, &.c. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 Same suVject continued— Nicholas Ptone— The Druids— The Romans— Picts—^cots— Dr. 
 Henry's arcount—Collesia Aitificuni— Ancient edifices — Athelstan— Edgar — EJward tlie 
 Confessor -'Ihomas Paine's opinions — The Rosicrusians— Roman and Greek colleges — 
 Proscription of Ai a onry on the continent— Dr. Plot— First authentic record of Freemr.- 
 soiiry— Thomas Ashmole, the last ot the Rosicrusians— ISlasonry in the reifrn ot Anne - 
 Rival Grand Lodges in England— Origin of Masonry in Sctnland—Kilwinmg— Lords of 
 Roslin— Resuscitation of Masonry in 1717 — Duke of Bucclengh— 17-*3— Dukeof Rich- 
 UiOiid— Extension of Englisli Masonry over the world. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 Refutation of the charges of infidelity — Absurd notions of double significations and inter- 
 pretations—Reasons why Freemasonry, on its own merits, should be relinquished, 
 
 LETTER XL 
 William Morgan— His life— Marriage with Luciiula Pendleton— His character— Origin of 
 ilie difficulties between him and the Masons— His association with David C. Miller- 
 Morgan's exclusion from the chapter at Ratavia — Revenge — Supposed Msit of Morgan to 
 New-York — Preparations for betraying the secrets of Masonry. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 Rumors of the intended publication— Attempts of the Masons to negociate with Morgan — 
 Advertiseil as an imjtostor — Misrepresentations upon this subject — Agitations amcmg the 
 Masons — Vexatious prosecutions — Arrival of Johns, as a spy and partner of Miller— first 
 arrest and imprisonmeiitof Morgan— Ransacking of Mrs. Morgan's apartment. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 indiscreet newspaper publications- General Lafayette— Conspiracy for the destruction of 
 Miller's ofBce— Meeting of the conspirators at Staflbrd— A night expedition and failure- 
 Col. Sawyer— attempt to bjrn the printing office by Howard— Providential IVustration of 
 the plan — F.xpedition ot Chesebon* and others, from Canandaigua— Dr. Butler— Arrest 
 and iransporlatiiinof Morgan to Canandaigua— Trial and acquittal for petit larceny — im- 
 prisonment at Cannndaisiia (or debt — Ueflections— Journey of Mrs. Morgan to Canandai- 
 gua, in puisuit of Jier husband— Delivery of niannfcripts- duel disappointment— her 
 return to Batavia— Offers of masonic support rejected. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Cuthering of conspirators in Eatnvla -Arrest and abduction of Miller— His imprisonment in 
 a liidae at Siiiffird— interview with Jolin-"— Journey to Le Roy, attended by a mob— His 
 rescue— Exlraordinary absence of the magistrates of Batavia on that day— Llieir more ex- 
 traaidinary cjnveri>atiuas— conduct of the Masons— Reflections. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 Charily to Mrs. Morgan— An apent ?ent to Canand.dtua— Mysterious letter to Mrs. Mor- 
 gan—Discoveries of the agent— Conspiracy at Cannmiaigua, ami abduction of Morgan 
 Irom the prison— CI»eKel)oro, Lawson. Smith, Whitr«ey, &c —Mysterious movements of a 
 carnage, in the night, from Canandaigua to Hanfoid's Lauding — 5?u-picious circumstan- 
 ces— Public iruH'tings at Batavia— Increase of the excitement— Appointment of commit- 
 tees— <:ortesp(indence with Governor Clinton-First pr<.clamalion— Progress of the excite- 
 ment--Nnn:ei(.u9 meeting*— Covimtion Lodge— Case of Elder Bernard— Conduct of the 
 Masons— Political symptoms— Reflections. 
 
 LB]TTER XVI. 
 
 Publication of Morgan'sdiscUuurefi— Conduct of Morgan— Inquiry into its morality— Arch- 
 deacon Paley— Dr. Biown— Morgan's jit-ifidy no justification of the Masons. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 False report." respecting Morgan's absence--Doubts among honest Masons — Variety of ru- 
 
 flxori— First indictments ot French and others— Second letter and proclamation of Ciover- 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 nor Clinton — Progress of the excitement — Indictment of Che?eboro and others, in Onta- 
 rio —Furtiier investigations of coiniuittee^— Mysterious carriage traced alon;; the Ridge 
 Road to Lewi3ton and Youngstown — Eli Bruce— Col. King— Grand Jury of Monroe — 
 Letter of Governor Clinton to the Attorney General. 
 
 LETTER XVI !I. 
 Trial of Chesehnro, Lawson, Sawyer, and Sheldon, at Canandaigna— Mysterious absence of 
 Miller— Strange letter to General Solomon Van Rensselaer— All but Sheldon pleaded 
 pnilty— Sheldon unjustly convicted— Remarks of Judge Throop on passing sentence- 
 Miller brought up on an attachment. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 Correspondence between Mr. Talbot and Governor Clinton— Correspondence between Gov- 
 ernor Clinton, llie Earl of Dalhousie, and Sir PerCijrine Mailland— Investigations in Up[)er 
 Canada. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 Result of the trial of Cheseboro and others, unsatisfactory— Increasing doubts— Progress of the 
 excitement at the west — Popular meetings— Denunciationsof the Masons, and the press — 
 Reflections of the people upon the first trial— Reaction— the author writes to Mr. Spen- 
 C!?r— Painful news from the west — Idle rtpc^rts— John Brandt— Imputations upon the Grand , 
 Chapter — Reported murder of Morgan — Eximinationsof Fort Niapara— 1 etters from the 
 Lewislon Committee— Panic among the people at the vve.~t— Reply of Mr. Spencer — 
 Confirming the author's worst apprehensions— Determination to iublisb boldly— Smith an J 
 Whitney abscond— Attempts to arrest them in Albany— Colonel King— Visits Governor 
 Clinton— Washington— Flies to the northwest. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 Meeting of the Grand Royal Arch Chipter— Expectations of the people and the guiltless 
 M jsons— Strange conduct of that btidy— Letter of a friend— Appropriation of money for 
 the benefit of the conspirators. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Progress of the excitement— Angry temj er of the people— Difficulties in churches— The 
 pjoular violence produces a reaction — Dangers of popular excitements— Means of con- 
 tinuing the excitement at the west — Conduct of a grand jury at Bataviii — Further indict- 
 ments in Ontaiio— Case ot Howard, alias Chipperfield— Depositions of John Mann— Pain- 
 ful disclosures- Howard absconds — Con<!ui t of Masons in ^lew-York — Avery Allwi — 
 Author's investigations— Howard helped out of the country by the Masons in New-Yoik. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 Further correspondence between Governor Clinton and Mr. Talbot— Special mess?age of the 
 latter to the Legislature— Third proclamaliou- Meeting of the Lewiston Convention- 
 Interesting investiijations — Additional d sclosures — Morgan traced uUo Canada and back 
 to the magazine of Fort Niagara — Furiher rumors of his murder — Horrid particulars — 
 Disclosures of Hirarn B. Hopkins— Conduct of grand jury at Niagara— And of Bruce. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 Memorials of the Lewiston convention, and of the people, to the Legislature— Proceedings 
 thereon— Act passed concerning kidnapping— Grand juriesof Monroe and Niagara — Trials 
 of French, Ganson, and others, at Batavia— Unaccountable acquittal of Gansoii— Alterna- 
 tions of the public feeling— False reports again put in circulation respecting the existence 
 of Morgan--Suid to be living in Canada, — and in Boston. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Meeting of the Grand Lodge in New- York — Arrival of Bruce— Interview with the author — 
 'i'he author's reception by some of the members in the Grand Lodge — Causes of their 
 hostility — His previous writmgs against the Morgan outrage— Threatening letter from 
 Wishington- Vote of money to Eli Bruce--Iuvestigation3 of the author— Supposed man- 
 ner of Morgan's death. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 Ill judged masonic celebration of St. John's Day, at Batavia— Wonderful excitement— Pre 
 parations for hostilities— The day passes by without serious evil. 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 gecond trials at Canandaigua,of Coa, Hayward,Omour,and others— Public interest in the 
 trials continues— Parties acquitted— Mission of Bates anil G;ulinghouse to the valley of th« 
 Mississippi, and Arkansas, in pursuit «f King, iSinith, and Whimey. 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 Public clamor at the acquittals of the defendants— Further disclosures from Niagara— Public 
 mind inflamed— Ami masonry becomes political— Preparations for the election— Removal 
 of Eli Bruce from the slierifTalty— Body found at Oak Orchard Creek— Coroner's inquest— 
 Intel ment— Report that it was Morgan's body— Supposed miracle— Disinterred— Another 
 inquest— Pronounced to be Morgan— Tremendous excitement — Great funeral — Arrival of 
 M rs. Monroe from Canada— Examinations— Body again disinterred— Another inquest — 
 Ascertained to be the bodv of Timothy Monroe— Reaction— Dangers of popular delusion — 
 Public meeting at Rochester— The Lewiston committees denounced— Remarkable case 
 of R. H. Hill— Confession of the murder— Arrest of Hill— His discharge— Thomas Hamil- 
 ton—His sudden disappearance at Buffalo— Supposed death — Excitement— Imposture— A 
 disclosure in Michigan— Edward Hopkins— Letter from Governor Cass to Governor Clinton. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Death of Gov. Clinton— Aspersions upon his character— James Ganson— Calumny of Clin- 
 ton by N. B Boileau— Vmdication of his character— Meeting of General Grand Chapter 
 in New-York— Richardson's deposition in Rhode Island— Morgan's manuscripts laid 
 before the General Grand Chapter— Author's Letter to Col. Knapp— Col. Knapp's reply— 
 Coriespondence between Gov. Clinton and Jacob Le Roy — Including a denial of Gov. 
 Clintonof the slanders against him— Summing up. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 Renunciations of Masonry— Convention of renouncing Masons at Le Roy— Their affirma- 
 tions of the disclosures of Morgan— Disclosures of the higher degrees— Spurious Obli- 
 gations-Memorial to Congress— Debate thereon— Le Roy Convention of March 6— Its 
 Proceedings— Govemmttut of the Stale devolves on Lt. Gov. Pitcher— Special Mes.«age 
 to the Legislature- Proceedings thereon- Special Counsel— Daniel Moseley appointed- 
 Unjust censures upon his commct— Return of Garlingliouse and Bates from an unsuccess- 
 ful mission after the fugitives to Missouri— Col. King eludes them— His strange return to 
 Youngstown— lie publishes an Address— change in the character of Anti-masonry. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 Trial of Eli Bruce, Turner, and Darrow— Rejection of Giddings as a witness— Decision of 
 Judge Howell— Prevaricating testimony of John Jackson— Conviction of Bruce- 
 Remarks upon the rejection of Giddings as a witness— opinions in the New- York State 
 Convention. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 P<dltical Campaign in New-York, in 1828— Preparations for the State and Presidential 
 Elections— National Republican Convention at Utica— Nomination of Judge Tliompeon 
 and Mr. Granger— Anti-masonic Convention at Utica— Nomination of Mr. Granger for 
 Governor and Mr. Crary— Mr. Granger declines the last nomination and accepts the 
 first— Anti-M;isons nominate Solomon Southwick— Jackson Convention at Herkimer— 
 Mr. Adims's Letter respecting Freemasony, pulilished at the West— He is charged, under 
 oath, with being a Mason himself— Denial— Result of the Election. 
 
 LETTER XXXIir. 
 Mfeting of the Legislature of 1P99— Gov. Van Buren's Message— Report of the Special 
 Onunnel— Reports thereon of both branches of the Legislature— Letter of Bowen Whiting 
 to the Cominiiiee of the Assembly— Letter of Special Counsel to the same— Renewal of 
 popular clamour— Genesee Convention— Holland Land Company— Second Anti-iSlasonic 
 Stale Convention— Proceeding of the same— Unfounded inferences respecting certain 
 nets of incorporation— Projwsed monument to the Memory of Morgan— Resignation of Mr. 
 Mftseley— J. C. Spencer apiioinled Special Counsel in his place— Enters vigorously upon 
 the duties of his office-Gov. Van Buroii resigns-Lt (Jov. Throop— His parting Address 
 to the SiMiate, giving offence to tlie Ami imsons- Meeting of Masons at Rochester— Their 
 renunciation, with a protest— Unsatisfactoi y— Reasons why— Charges against the Chap- 
 ter, and Encampment at Rochester. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 Ontario fSewlons of May, 1829-Eli Bruce's case- Hiram B. Hopkins testifies new facts 
 against him— Death of Burrage Smith— Trial of John Whitney and James Gillis— Ell- 
 Bruce tc!«tili"s- Whitney convicted— Bruce and Whitney sentenced to imprisonment- 
 Attentions shown them'by tlie Masons while in Prison. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 Conduct of town Clerk of B ilnny, respecting Jurors- His trial— Irritation of the Mnsens, 
 because of their perseniiiuns- The Clergy— Reasons why so many of them are Masons 
 —Proceedings of religious sects against the Maa.ins— Baptist conventions— Rev. Mr. 
 Emerson's Letter— Convention at VVt*»8Bborough— And elsewhere— Of the associated 
 Reformed Synod— Associated Synod of iScotland— Tlie Presbyterian Church— Proceedings 
 in Pittsburg in 1820— Synod of Genesee— Presbytery of Rochester— General Union 
 Meeting in Oneida, 
 
CONTENTS. Til 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 Prosecution of the trials by Mr, Spencer— Indictments in Genesee— Embarrassmenta from 
 absence of witnesses — Case of Harris — Of Orson Parkhurst — Oyer and Terminer in Mon- 
 roe—Romantic Incident— Devotion and heroic conduct of a woman to save her husband — 
 Rev. Francis H. Cuming— Clamour abates— Elections of 1829. 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 
 Trial of Elihu Mather, before Judge Gardiner— Challenges of Masonic Jarors— Testimony 
 as to the nature of the Obligations— Exclusion of Masons— Mather acquitted— Motion foi 
 ^ new trial denied by the Supreme Court. 
 
 LETTER XXXVm. 
 Legislature of 1830— Message of the Acting Governor— Report of the Special Counsel- 
 Gives offence to the Masons in the Legislature— Debates— Judge Gardiner directed to 
 bring up the case of Mather— Another Anti-masonic State Convention— Inquiry respect- 
 ing the conduct of the Grand C^hapter-Legislative Proceedings— Report of the Attorney 
 General— Anti-masonry becomes thoroughly political— Political feelings in the Legislature 
 —Mr. Spencer's Resignation, and reasons— The Governor's vindication— Publication of 
 Spencer's private correspondence— Appointment of Mr. Birdseye— Review of the con- 
 duct of Governor Throop, 
 
 LETTER XXXIX, 
 
 Means adopted for prolonging the excitement— Extraordinary case of reported Masonic 
 murder in Belfast— Investigation of this case— Reasons why it is not to be believed. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 Special Circuit of Niagara— Judge Marcy— Trial of Ezekiel Jewett— Testimony on the 
 Nature of Masonic Obligations— Decision of Judge Marcy upon this duestion— Unex- 
 ampled Conduct of Masonic Witnesses— Contempt of Court, and Imprisonment of Tur- 
 ner—The same of Eli Bruce— Conduct of John Jackson— His Equivocal Testimony- 
 Conduct of William P. Daniels— Acquittal of Jewett. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 Trial of Solomon C. Wright and Jeremiah Brown— Unaccountable Acquittal of the De- 
 fendants—Lemuel De Forest— His strange story respecting the Death of Loring Simonds. 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 Establishment of a Paper at Rochester by the Masons— Its Course— Indicted for a Libel on 
 a Jury— Case of the Cooks, at Fort Ann— Conduct of the Masons thereon— Elections of 
 1830— Results in the great increase of Anti-masonry— Mysterious case of Elder Witherell 
 —Interesting Letter from Washington County, detailing the whole History of that re- 
 markable case— Second Trial and Acquittal of James Gillis— Session of the Legislature 
 of 1831— Message of Governor Throop— Report of the Special Counsel— Refusal of Judge 
 Gardiner to try any more of the Morgan Conspirators— Compliment to Mr. Whiting. 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 Special Circuit of Niagara in February and March, 1831— Judge Nelson presides— Trials of 
 Elisha Adams, and of Parkhust Whitney and others— Difficulty of Obtaining Jurors- 
 Nature of Masonic Obligations— Loton Lawson sworn as a Witness— John Whitney, the 
 same— Orsamus Turner— A new and Important witness in the person of James A. Shed 
 —Edward Giddings— His Infidelity— Alteration of the Law of Evidence— Giddinga 
 sworn as a Witness— His damning testimony highly important~-Jury disagrees in the Case 
 of Adams, and also in the other case. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 Trial of Norfnan Shepherd and Timothy Maxwell— Rev. Lucius Smith— Conduct of Betha- 
 ny Chapter— Committees sent to Canandaigua, Rochester, Lockport, and Buffalo, to con- 
 cert measures for suppressing Morgan's Book— John Jackson again— Proceedings in the 
 Lodge Room at Lockport— Abandonment of the Prosecution— Last Message of the Go- 
 vernor, and final Report of the Special Counsel upon this subject. 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 Masonic Exhibitions— Amusing case in Chenango— Harlowe C. Witherell— Nature of Ma- 
 sonic Ceremonies and Obligations— Trial and ac quittal of Solomon C. Wright, for Perju- 
 ry— Case of Gould against Weed, for Libel— Disposition of the money voted by the Grand 
 Chapter in 1827— More proved than General Gould's friends could have wished— Most 
 important features of the Libel left uninvestigated— By Which means, doubtless, a verdict 
 was obtained by the Plaintiff. 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 Conduct of the Newspafter Press examined— Mr. Rush answered— Reasons for the course 
 taken by the Tress— The denunciations not entirely jiist— Anti-masons required too 
 much— Party Spirit— Its eflecLs upon the subject of Free Discussion— American mode of 
 Proscription— Erroneous Principles upon wliich the Presses of this Country are esta- 
 blislied— The Liberty of the Press, and it? licentiousness, very different things— Character 
 of the Press of England— and France— Incompetency of many Editors. 
 
 LETTER XLVU. 
 
 Inquiry— What was tlie fate of Morgan .'—Review of the History— Conduct of Witnesses- 
 No doubt that Morgan was murdered— Flvidences supporting this opinion — Testimony 
 fiom Vermont— 'I'lie principal Executioners dead— Further testimony from a variety of 
 sources at the "West, not brought out on the Trials— Consultations for putting Morgan to 
 Death— Ingenious mode of drawing lots— Manner of his death— Reflections. 
 
 LETTER XLVIII. 
 Inquiry as to what extent the Masonic Lodges and Chapters, and the Members of the Order, 
 individually or collectively, were concerned — Erroneous views that have hetn entertained, 
 as to the Internal Organization of the Masonic bodies— Reviev/ of the History upon the 
 question examined in this Letter— Testimony of Thomas G. Green, respecting the Lod§e 
 at Buffalo— Testimony from other quarters— Further recapitulation of the History— Ma- 
 sons extensively hiculpated at the West, as illustrated from a variety of facts— Summing 
 up of this head. 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 Drawing lo a close— Twelve reasons why all good men should abandon the Institution of 
 Speculative Masonry— Supported in this conclusion by the opinion of Chancellor Wal- 
 worth. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 Containing a variety of Papers and Documents. 
 
LETTERS 
 
 ADDRESSED TO 
 
 THE HON. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 New- York, Nov. 20, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have been honored by the receipt, in due course of 
 
 mail, of your favor of the 27th uUimo. The readiness v^ith 
 
 which you have assented to my request to be allowed the 
 
 opportunity of addressing a series of Letters to you upon 
 
 the subjects of speculative Freemasonry and Anti-masonry — 
 
 topics of such deep and general interest at the present 
 
 time, — and the kind and encouraging terms in which that 
 
 assent is expressed, demand my grateful acknowledgments. 
 
 It was not without diffidence, more, indeed, than I shall 
 
 probably receive credit for, that I was induced to prefer 
 
 such a request. But a variety of circumstances, weighty 
 
 and powerful in themselves, together with an impression 
 
 that the labor I propose to perform, may be attended with 
 
 some benefit to the community, excited and divided as it 
 
 now is, and threatens long to be, by the distracting question 
 
 I am to consider, have impelled me to the undertaking. 
 
 1 
 
2 LETTER I. 
 
 The formation of the Anti-masonic party, which is now 
 extending itself in various directions, and its effective or- 
 ganization, create an era in the poUtical history of our 
 country. Parties w^ill always exist in republican govern- 
 ments, and indeed, in all governments where the elective 
 principle is recognised. But heretofore, the dividing lines 
 of parties have been drawn, generally, with reference to 
 certain prominent principles of the constitution, or policy of 
 the government. Or, whenever the coincidence of opinion 
 respecting the principles and action of a free government, 
 becomes so general, that room is scarcely afforded for op- 
 position, on the breaking up of old, new parties are formed 
 in respect rather to men than principles. Parties, originally 
 formed upon principle, in such cases, degenerate into fac- 
 tions. The political history of our own country affords 
 ample illustrations of the soundness of these propositions. 
 From the period of the adoption of the federal constitu- 
 tion, down to the close of the last war with Great Britain^ 
 the people had been divided into two great parties only. 
 The division originated in differences of principle, touching 
 the powers vested in the general government under the 
 federal compact ; but after the accession of Mr. Jefferson 
 to the presidency, the principles of opposition, down even 
 to the close of Mr. Madison's administration, were rather 
 to be found in relation to the policy of the government, 
 than to the 'principles upon which the government was it- 
 self constituted. Nevertheless, the dividing line was cleaily 
 defined, and always distinctly understood ; at least by the 
 leaders of the difierent parties, and by their intelligent sup- 
 porters. 
 
 At the close of the late war, however, a recurrence, by 
 the majority, to the leading measures which had been so 
 long and so strenuously advocated by the opposition, dis- 
 armed the latter ; and after a few feeble and very partial 
 efforts to prolong the contest under the old watch- words and 
 
LETTER I. D 
 
 banners of the respective parties, the strife ceased, and a 
 truce ensued, which continued nearly to the close of the ad- 
 ministration of the late president Monroe. Nor, in the 
 contest for the succession, was the attempt to rally the for- 
 mer parties, as such, successful. At any rate, it was but 
 partially so — although the old party watch-words were 
 rung in all their various changes, by a considerable portion 
 of the public press. The contest of 1824, was essentially 
 for men. There were four candidates for tlie presidency, — 
 at one period five ; — and yet, with the exception of one of 
 them, the success of whom was identified with the odious 
 practice of congressional caucussing, no controversy respect- 
 ing the cardinal principles of the government was entertained 
 by either. The general course of national policy to be 
 pursued, internal and external, was believed to be establish- 
 ed ; and few persons, warring in the ranks of either of the 
 candidates, contemplated any essential change or departure 
 therefrom. Still, much strife and bitterness of feeling were 
 engendered during the conflict ; and the passions were 
 wrought up to a degree of excitement, if not of positive 
 anger, w^hich forbade their sinking back into that state of 
 repose which could have been desired, on your accession to 
 the chief magistracy of the republic. The calm that fol- 
 lowed was deceitful. The aspirants who had been con- 
 tending in the ranks of the various unsuccessful parties, and 
 fragments of parties, were alike out of place ; and if they 
 had no common bond of union by virtue of any principle, 
 they had at least a common object, and therefore a common 
 interest in acting together, in any new enterprise promising 
 a more propitious result. 
 
 The ancient party land-marks having all been erased, and 
 the party watch- words having lost their charm, as the ex- 
 perience of the preceding contest had well demonstrated, it 
 was apparent that an entirely new organization was neces- 
 sary ; a combination was required among materials of the 
 
4 LETTER I. 
 
 most heterogeneous and even opposite qualities, possessing 
 no single property or principle of cohesion, save only what 
 may be found in the pregnant and comprehensive phrase — 
 SELF-INTEREST. Nor did the managers find it necessary to 
 look for a term of greater significance or power. A new party, 
 numerous and active, sprung up suddenly, as if summoned into 
 existence by the wand of another Prospero. The disaflfected 
 of all schools were united, — the Georgian contemner of the 
 treaty-making power ; the South Carolinian nuUifier ; the Vir- 
 ginian strict-constructionist ; the free-trade advocate — (as a 
 certain description of speculative political economists call 
 themselves, in contradistinction to those who would foster the 
 industry of their own country by protecting duties, when 
 necessary ;) — and the tariff' men of Pennsylvania and New- 
 York ; — men of rival interests, and of opposite, and even con- 
 flicting opinions — all, all combined in the formation of a new 
 party, without reference to antecedent creeds or principles, 
 and with the sole view of self-aggrandisement and power. 
 Their numbers increased beyond precedent or measure : 
 so that after a repose of twelve years and upwards, the 
 country once more found itself divided into two formidable 
 political parties — one of them as we have seen, (the youngest, 
 and, very speedily, the strongest,) so utterly heterogeneous, 
 among its own members, upon every subject but the passion 
 for power, that, were that principle of action removed, we 
 might have anticipated for them the fite of the fabled war- 
 riors who sprung from the dragon's teeth of Cadmus, on the 
 casting of even a stone amongst them. 
 
 But of all the parties to which I have adverted in this 
 brief retrospect, and of all the factions, and fragments of 
 parties, which at dilferent times, and in different sections of 
 the country, have broken off* and divided upon questions of 
 temporary interest and expediency, it may be predicated 
 that the principles of their organization and action have 
 been pretty well understood by tlie people. They have ei- 
 
LETTER I. O 
 
 ther been combatting for what they supposed to be consti- 
 tutional principles, or for measures, or for the success of 
 personal favorites, or openly and avowedly for a new division 
 of the spoil. And in either case, the dividing lines of these 
 parties have been well defined. The circumstances out of 
 which they sprung — the principles upon which they have 
 been maintained, — and the objects intended to be effected, 
 have been, among intelligent men at least, well understood. 
 Such is not the fact, however, with respect to the Anti- 
 masonic party, of which, since it is to form my principal 
 theme, I ought, perhaps, to have spoken with less circum- 
 locution. That is a political party sui generis. There 
 was none ever before like unto it. Nor will its likeness, 
 probably, be found in any pohtical party to arise hereafter. 
 It is of but recent origin, and yet is already powerful in 
 numbers — striking deep root in the land, and spreading far 
 and wide its branches. Its progress has hitherto given the 
 he to prediction, and in its strides it has outstripped the cal- 
 culations of its friends. Already is its weight heavily felt 
 in our elections, and it bids fair, at no distant day, to exer- 
 cise a prodigious influence, for weal or for woe, in the poli- 
 tical concerns of the republic. " Behold how great a matter 
 " a little fire kindleth." It is but little more than four years, 
 I believe, since the commencement of this new party. It 
 had its origin in a small town in the interior of this state, 
 with reference, solely, to a town election. Since that period 
 it has drawn into its ranks nearly one hundred thousand free 
 and intelligent electors of the state of New- York ; it has 
 almost divided the vote of Pennsylvania ; it has planted it- 
 self deeply in the soil of Massachusetts ; it is spreading in 
 other of the New England states, in Ohio, and elsewhere ; 
 while in Vermont, like the rod of Aaron, it has so far 
 swallowed up both of the former parties, as to have obtained 
 the control of the state government. Nor is it of factious 
 partizans, or disappointed office seekers, that this party is 
 
6 LETTER I. 
 
 composed. It is a truth, let partizan opponents say what 
 they please to the contrary, that it comprises among its 
 members, as great a portion of wealth, and character, — of 
 talents and respectability, — as any party of equal numbers, 
 ever formed in this or any other country. And yet I am 
 constrained to believe, that this party, possessing such num- 
 bers, and such moral as well as political power, is far from 
 being well understood, or properly appreciated, by a vast 
 majority of the people of these United States. I am con- 
 strained to say — for I know the fact — that many gentlemen, 
 filling a wide space in the public eye — eminent for their 
 talents, and distinguished for the soundness of their learn- 
 ing, and the extent of their political information — have no 
 just knowledge or conception of Anti-masonry. They look 
 upon it merely as a party, originating in a spirit of fanati- 
 cism, engaged in a crusade against an innocent institution, 
 and proscribing, without reason or justice, all the members 
 of that institution, whether innocent or guilty. They know 
 little of the merits of the case ; — doubt, or affect to doubt, 
 whether any great crime has been committed to justify the 
 excitement out of which it sprung, — and are still less in- 
 formed as to the wide extent in which, in the course of these 
 Letters, truth will compel me to admit the Masonic institu- 
 tion has been compromised by the dark transaction to which 
 I am referring. 
 
 Allowing what I have just been saying to be true, and 
 that it is so, I know from extensive and close personal ob- 
 servation, — may it not, sir, be a matter of profitable inquiry, 
 to ascertain the cause of this want of information, with a 
 view, if possible, by a subsequent investigation of facts, of 
 removing the obstacles to a more general diffusion of light 
 and truth? 
 
 In searching for the origin of Anti-masonry, we discover 
 it as proceeding exclusively from the fact, that in the year 
 1826, a great outrage was committed in the western part 
 
LETTER t. 7 
 
 of New- York, against the peace of the people and the nna- 
 jesty of the laws. An extensive conspiracy was formed 
 against a free citizen, commencing in his seizure and abduc- 
 tion, and ending in his murder. The men engaged in this 
 foul conspiracy, thus terminating in a deed of blood, belong- 
 ed to the society of Freemasons ; and the life of the victim 
 was taken, as a punishment for a disclosure, on his part, of 
 what have been deemed the secrets of that institution. The 
 fact of the abduction and murder having been satisfactorily 
 ascertained, the people of that section of country, laboring 
 under a very honest feeling of indignation at the perpetra- 
 tion of such an outrage, set themselves about a thorough 
 investigation of this black transaction. But they soon found 
 their investigations embarrassed, by Freemasons, in every 
 way that ingenuity could devise. At that time, by the then 
 existing law of the state, grand jurors w^ere selected and 
 summoned by the sheriffs of counties. In one county, sus- 
 picion was strongly fastened upon the sheriff' himself; and 
 the grand jurors summoned by him refused to find bills, where 
 the ex-parte testimony was on all hands believed to be suf- 
 ficient to put the offenders upon their trial. In some instan- 
 ces, where convictions were had for the lesser crime of ab- 
 duction, the parties offending, so far from having been expel- 
 led from their respective lodges for their crimes, received aid 
 and comfort from their brethren. In others, sonie witnesses 
 stood mute ; others were believed to have perjured them- 
 selves; while in other cases, the Masons on the petit juries, 
 would refuse to convict, even where the testimony was 
 strong as proofs of holy writ. The arm of the law was 
 raised, and the power and authority of the state invoked and 
 exercised in vain ; while the grand supervising bodies of the 
 Masonic institution, were themselves strongly suspected of 
 favoring the cause of the accused. The natural conse^ 
 quence of such a chain of circumstances, was to increase the 
 excitement of the people at every new developement of facts^ 
 
O LETTER I. 
 
 and to chafe them into a yet more angry mood, with every 
 successive disappointment. A large portion of the press, 
 moreover, either observed an ominous silence, or attempted 
 to heap ridicule upon those who honestly beheved the blood 
 of an innocent man to be crying from the ground for ven- 
 geance. 
 
 Thus irritated and inflamed, the Anti-masons no longer 
 confined their denunciations to a few misguided Masonic fa- 
 natics at the west, but proceeded in no measured terms, to 
 denounce the whole fraternity, and to hold the institution of 
 Freemasonry itself as directly responsible for the alleged 
 murder. At one time it was said that the Grand Lodge, at 
 another that the Grand Chapter, and at another that the 
 General Grand Chapter, had directly authorised and requir- 
 ed the murder of the victim — whose name, I need not add, 
 was William Morgan. Nay, more, an illustrious citizen, 
 now no more, whose life was a pattern of public and private 
 integrity and virtue, and whose name is proudly associated 
 with the glory of his country, was basely coupled with the 
 conspirators ; while newspaper files, and the records of coro- 
 ners' offices, were ransacked for cases of suicide, to be charg- 
 ed as so many additional murders upon the Freemasons. A 
 number of seceding Masons disclosed a series of oaths, pur- 
 porting to be those administered in the lodges and chap- 
 ters, which, unexplained, look frightfully enough, I admit ; 
 but which, according to the construction put upon them 
 by the Anti-masons, would not only cover every crime 
 and every enormity, against the laws alike of God and 
 man, that Masons could commit, but would compel the 
 participation in crime, of all who have taken such obliga- 
 tions. Feeling keenly the injustice of such sweeping de- 
 nunciations, the Masons, in turn, became highly exaspera- 
 ted. Thousands and tens of thousands of men, as virtuous 
 and as pure in their lives and conversation as any in the re- 
 public — men exalted by their talents, and the splendor of 
 
LETTER I. 9 
 
 their public services — or for their piety and benevolence in 
 the walks of private life— of a sudden found themselves charg- 
 ed v^^ith infidelity, blasphemy, and murder. They could 
 not brook it. Many thousands of them were only nominal- 
 ly Freemasons. They had joined the society when young 
 men, as a benevolent social institution, relinquishing it in a 
 few years, to attend to the more important concerns of life, 
 but without perceiving any harm in it. There were thou- 
 sands and tens of thousands more, preserving their relation- 
 ship to the institution, who absolutely not only knew noth- 
 ing of the abduction and murder of William Morgan — but 
 who had actually never heard of the person, or his book, until 
 months after his bones were whitening at the bottom of the 
 Niagara. And again, there were thousands of Masons, as 
 well as others, who believed, (and many of them so believe 
 unto this day,) that the whole story of the abduction and 
 murder was an ingeniously devised fiction, got up for the 
 purpose of realiznig a fortune from the sale of a book — pre- 
 tending to be a revelation of the secrets of Freemasonry, 
 All these classes of Masons felt not only insulted, but ag- 
 grieved, at the wholesale charges brought against them. 
 When personally assailed, it was in vain that they opened 
 their mouths in explanation or defence, or that they expres- 
 sed the deep abhorrence with which they looked upon th© 
 crime that had been committed. They were roughly told 
 that those oaths, those horrible oaths, were upon them, and 
 that consequently it was utterly out of their power to speajj; 
 the truth of the order. The effect upon the social relations, 
 m many peaceful communities, was such as all good men 
 could but deplore. Friendships were broken amongst neighs 
 bors; the harmony of the social fire-side was destroyed ; the 
 pastors of the christian religion were driven from their 
 flocks, and exemplary professors thrust rudely from the com- 
 munion table. 
 
iO LETTER r. 
 
 Thus arose a mutual state of distrust and exasperation. 
 Many thousands of honest and inteUigent men have brought 
 themselves to believe, that Masons have so bound themselves 
 by horrible oaths, that they are disqualified for performing 
 the duty even of good citizens — much less for discharging 
 faithfully the duties imposed by civil trusts of any descrip- 
 tion whatever. And they are consequently from year to 
 year appealing to the ballot boxes for such a decision from 
 the people, as will sustain their views. While on the other 
 hand, the great majority of the Masons, particularly be- 
 yond the state of New- York, and the numerous body with- 
 in the state, who feel a proud consciousness of their own 
 individual honor and integrity, and who condemn the Mor- 
 gan outrage as much as the most indignant Anti-mason can 
 do it, are bent on opposing the crusade against them with 
 equal pertinacity. Sorry am I to add my fears, that the ob- 
 stinacy on both sides, is but too often indulged at the ex- 
 pense of what the paities know and feel to be the true inter- 
 ests of the country. 
 
 Such a state of feeling, it w^ill readily be conceded, is in 
 no wise favorable to a calm investigation as to the merits 
 of the controversy. On the one hand, the Anti-masons per- 
 sist in holding the whole Masonic fraternity guilty — impu- 
 ting that guilt to the nature of the institution itself — and re- 
 fusing to allow any explanations as to the manner in which 
 Freemasonry was received, understood and practised by vir- 
 tuous and intelligent men. Such explanations, they afiect 
 to believe, would not only be cx-park\ but unworthy of cre- 
 dit, on account of the "horrible oaths." Indeed they invert 
 the sound maxim of the common law, which declares that 
 every man is to be considered innocent until he is proved 
 guilty, and believe every Mason guilty who is not proved 
 innocent. On the other hand, an equally strong prejudictj 
 against the Anti-masons, has prevented the vast body of Ma- 
 
LETTER I. 11 
 
 &ons, who are in truth and in fact innocent of all the charges 
 directly advanced, or insinuated against them, from that 
 full and impartial inquiry into the whole history of the Mor- 
 gan outrage, which its importance demands. The conse- 
 quence is, that they are not aware of the extent to which 
 the Masonic institution of this state, stands compromised in 
 relation to the Morgan outrage, and the subsequent efforts 
 to succor, and even to screen, the guilty; They, on their 
 part, moreover, look upon the Anti-masonic publications 
 as ex-parte, and will not believe them. 
 
 Here, in my opinion, lies the great difficulty in question^ 
 The mutual hostility of the parties, engendered as I have 
 related, has prevented that calm and deliberate search after 
 truth that is needed. These asperities must be softened. 
 The Anti-masons must be made to perceive, that, whatever 
 they may think of Freemasonry itself, their indiscriminate 
 proscription of its members, whom they know to be pure and 
 virtuous, patriotic and upright citizens, is cruel and unjust. 
 The Masons, on their part, must in like manner be made to 
 perceive, that there has been great cause for the excitement 
 and indignation of the Anti-masons. They must likewise be 
 made to perceive, that the masonic institution, having over a 
 wide region of country been corrupted and abused — nay, 
 stained with blood which its officers have not tried to wipe 
 away — is liable to be so abused and corrupted again ; and, 
 therefore, that it cannot and ought not longer to be sustained. 
 
 To produce these results, is the design of the undertaking 
 upon which I have now commenced. In the minds of many, 
 the attempt may argue on my part no small degree of 
 presumption. Still, I have the vanity to believe I shall be 
 in a degree successful — that my labors will tend, in some 
 small measure at least, to advance the cause of truth and 
 justice. The Anti-masons know me well. They know that 
 from the outset, my course upon the subject of this unhappy 
 excitement, and the tragical cause of it, has been open, 
 
13 1.KTTEJI I. 
 
 straight-forward, free and independent. They know that 
 neither threats, nor abuse, nor motives of self-interest, have 
 deterred me from speaking or pubhshing the truth — and the 
 whole truth. By them, therefore, I shall be read and be- 
 lieved. The intelligent and virtuous members of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity likewise know me. They know me as a 
 Mason, who, for ample cause, as will be seen hereafter, has 
 not attended the sittings of any lodge, since the atrocity of 
 the west was disclosed, but who has nevertheless made na 
 renunciation. By them, therefore, I likewise trust I shall be 
 read, and I hope also by them to be believed. In any event, 
 my aim will be impartiality and truth. The search for the. 
 latter, I am aware, will be laborious, even if it can at all 
 times be discerned. " Truth," to borrow a beautiful simile 
 from Milton, "came once into the world with her divine 
 "master, and was a perfect shape, most glorious to look on : 
 "but when he ascended, and his apostles after him were laid 
 "asleep, there straiglit arose a wicked race of deceivers, who 
 "as the story goes of the Egyptian Typhon with his conspir- 
 ^'ators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin 
 ** Truth, hewed her lovel}^ frame into a thousand pieces, and 
 <* scattered them to the four winds. From that time ever since, 
 "the sad friends of Truth, such as durst appear, imitating the 
 "careful search that Isis made for the mangled body of Osiris, 
 "went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they 
 "could find them." Like the widowed divinity of the my- 
 thology, I, also, shall search up and down after the scattered 
 members of tlie victim ; and although I may not promise in 
 bringing together every joint and limb to mould them a» 
 Isis did, into "an immortal feature of loveliness and perfec- 
 "tion," yet I trust I shall not fail in presenting her plain, honest 
 features, though in humble garb, to the recognition of the 
 public. 
 
 It is no part of my design to write a vindication of Free- 
 masonry, as such. Its character, its usefulness, and its res^ 
 
LETTER I. 10 
 
 pectability are gone, and its officers and members, through- 
 out the Union, would act wisely to bury all their tools and 
 implements, and inscribe the name ICHABOD on the cap- 
 stone. But it will be my object to describe Freemasonry 
 as I received, understood, and practised it myself, and as it 
 has been received, understood and practised by the hundreds 
 of excellent men — of sound heads, and pure hearts, — whom 
 I have known to be Freemasons, and with whom, before the 
 black outrage which has disgraced and destroyed the insti- 
 tution, I have had the happiness to associate in the lodge 
 room. Having discharged tliis duty to those of my brethren 
 who are worthy citizens, and having, (as I hope I shall be 
 able to do,) relieved them from a heavy weight of the odium 
 unjustly cast upon such Masons, I shall next proceed to give 
 a full and impartial history, without fear, favor or affection, 
 of or for any one, of the origin, rise and progress of Anti- 
 masonry — nothing extenuating, nor setting down aught in 
 malice — embracing an account of the original quarrel w4th 
 Morgan, together with a succinct history of the several tri- 
 als that have taken place in relation to the subject, with all 
 the pertinent and material facts elicited, in testimony, togeth- 
 er with such other incidental information as may be found 
 interesting and authentic. 
 
 You will perceive, sir, that 1 have entered upon a wide 
 field of investigation ; but I hope in the course of the winter 
 to accomplish the task in a manner that will be equally sa- 
 tisfactory to yourself and the public, while at the same time 
 its tendency may be to allay excitement and animosity, and 
 to produce a better understanding among good men now 
 widely apart, but who love the country and its inhabitants 
 with equal ardor and sincerity. 
 
 I am, sir, with sentiments of high respect, 
 
 Your very humble servant^ 
 
14 LETTER II. 
 
 LETTER IL 
 
 New- York, Nov. 25, 1881. 
 Snt, 
 
 Pursuing the design of this correspondence, in the man- 
 ner indicated in my former Letter, it will be first in order 
 to speak of the Masonic institution as I first became ac- 
 quainted with it. My object in making this exposition is 
 two-fold, viz : to show, not only, (as I have previously inti- 
 mated,) how gentlemen of intelligence and moral worth, 
 have received and understood the subject, but to show also, 
 how they could consistently remain attached to the institu- 
 tion, so long at least as they supposed it to be free from 
 crime, and incapable of abuse, notwithstanding the ridicule 
 which has been cast upon its ceremonies by caricature-re- 
 presentations. Much of the language of Freemasonry is 
 allegorical ; and the emblems and symbols used, are, many 
 of them, pregnant with useful instruction. The moral vir- 
 tues and duties, and some of the soundest religious truths, 
 are imprinted on the mind, and impressed upon the memoiy, 
 by lively and sensible images ; — and although I have never 
 witnessed any of the burlesque representations to which I 
 have just referred, I can yet easily perceive how they may 
 be rendered exceedingly ridiculous in the eyes of a popular 
 audience, by a mock display upon the stage. But this fact 
 is no evidence either of weakness or folly, on the part of those 
 who are actually receiving moral instruction from these 
 symbolic lessons, in a well regulated lodge room. 
 
 It was towards the close of the year 1815, that I was 
 initiated into the first, or entered apprentice's degree of Ma- 
 soiiry, in the lodge at Hudson, in the county of Columbia, 
 
LETTER II. 16 
 
 (N. Y.) 1 was moved to take the leap in the dark, more by 
 that prurient curiosity incident to our species, than from any 
 other consideration. In common with others, I had heard 
 much of the antiquity of the order, but had never taken the 
 trouble to examine its vaunted pretensions, and cared little 
 about them. My impression was, that it might possibly 
 date its associated origin back to the period of the crusades, 
 but probably no farther. Certainly, the idea that by joining 
 the society, I was to become possessed of some mighty se- 
 cret of priceless value, and infinite importance, or that my 
 mind was suddenly to be illuminated by a blaze of intellec- 
 tual light, after entering the lodge room, was far from being 
 entertained. Still, however, after having been conducted 
 through the ceremonies, which were well administered, by 
 expert officers, and which, with the explanations given, ap- 
 peared, to say the least, very harmless, candor obliges me to 
 confess that I felt not a little disappointed. But it was a 
 disappointment at, I knew not what, — a sort of undefinable 
 sensation — neither a positive feeling of dissatisfaction, nor 
 of chagrin, but yet a little of both. Probably I felt some- 
 thing like the Syrian leper, when the prophet, instead of 
 going out and " doing some great thing," told him simply to 
 go w^ash himself in the river. There were at the time 
 about a dozen of us, young gentlemen, at lodgings together, 
 several of the elder of whom were already Masons of some 
 years standing ; and whenever these returned from the 
 lodge, it v/as often the habit of the residue of the circle, to 
 indulge, sometimes in harmless pleasantries at their expense, 
 and at others in severer satires. And it is not unlikely that 
 these very conversations were the im.mediate cause of our 
 joining the institution. I use the plural pronoun, because, to 
 my infinite surprise, when I was * brought from darkness to 
 light,' to use the language of the craft, — being the last of a 
 number of candidates admitted on that evening, — I found se- 
 veral of my daily companions initiates before me. Au 
 
16 LETTER II. 
 
 cclaircisscnient was now inevitable, and the fact w^as of 
 course disclosed, that we had each taken the preparatory 
 measures for initiation with so much secrecy that neither 
 had indicated his intention to his most confidential friends. 
 Two of the number were promising young clergymen, one 
 of whom is now a divine in Philadelphia, distinguished alike 
 for his eloquence and his piety. I could easily discern that 
 the feelings of all these were in unison with my own. Nor 
 did the same observation, in regard to all the eleves, escape 
 the attention of older members of the fraternity, and they ac- 
 cordingly very soon re-assured us, by stating the fact, that 
 the first step, or degree, was merely intended to introduce 
 the candidate into the lodge, and that the higher mysteries 
 of the order would be disclosed to us afterwards. In" the 
 mean time the lectures appertaining to the first degree, and 
 the charges, were duly recited to us, and with efl?ect. I 
 have already mentioned, incidentally, the importance of hav- 
 ing officers who understand their duties, and who are w^ithal 
 men of intelligence, and education. To the want of presi- 
 ding officers of this description, may probably be attributed, 
 in a great measure, the deplorable transactions of which it 
 will hereafter be my duty to speak in terms of the strongest 
 condemnation. On the present occasion, however, there- 
 was no cause of fault-finding upon this score. The emblems 
 of this degree, of which I shall speak more at large, in an- 
 other communication, when I come to discuss the charge 
 brought against the institution of infidelity, were happily 
 and readily explained. The most prominent of these em- 
 blems, was the star in the east, which guided the eastern 
 Magi to the humble couch of the infant Saviour of men. 
 There were other emblems, teaching, first, the propriety of 
 maintaining regularity of life, and attending to the due im- 
 provement of time, by conforming to the prescribed rules for 
 which, eight hours were allotted to repose, eight to labor, 
 and eight to the service of God. Secondly, the cleansing of 
 
LETTER II. 17 
 
 our hearts and minds from every vice, was inculcated— 
 ** thereby fitting our bodies, as living stones," for that spirit- 
 ual edifice built by the great architect of the universe, be- 
 yond the stars. There w^ere other emblems in this first 
 step, representing human life as being chequered with good 
 and evil ; — pointing to the comforts and blessings that sur- 
 round us ; — and impressing upon our minds the necessity of 
 our reliance upon divine providence. Our imperfect condition 
 by nature was likewise adverted to, and the state of perfec- 
 tion to which we hope to arrive by a virtuous education, 
 aided by the blessing of God upon our own endeavors, and 
 a due observance of the holy scriptures, as pointing out the 
 whole duty of man. Indeed every thing in this degree was 
 adapted to impress upon the mind of the candidate the neces- 
 sity of maintaining purity of Hfe and conduct, in order to 
 ensure a happy immortality. The badge of the degree, we 
 were informed, was a white lamb-skin — an emblem of in- 
 nocence and purity of life. Our minds, we were told, were 
 to be continually directed to heaven ; and in explanation of 
 the emblem of a ladder upon the Masonic carpet, we were 
 referred to that singular vision of Jacob, so expressly sym- 
 bolical of the universal providence of God — the flight of 
 steps uniting earth and heaven, with the ministering angels 
 continually ascending and descending — watching over us, 
 and, as it were, conveying the wants of m.an to his maker, 
 and bringing down the commands and the blessings of his 
 maker to his creatures. Instructive lessons were likewise 
 inculcated upon the moral duties of brotherly love, the relief 
 of the distressed, and the attribute of truth, as the foundation 
 of all virtue. This part of the exercise was succeeded by 
 a satisfactory explanation of the four cardinal virtues of 
 temperance, fortifude, prudence, and justice. The result of 
 the performance, on the whole, imparted satisfaction ; and the 
 ceremony of closing the lodge, the utmost solemnity and 
 order being preserved, was striking and agreeable. TI>e 
 
19 LETTER II. 
 
 beautiful words of the closing prayer : — " May the blessing 
 »' of heaven rest upon us, and all regular Masons I May 
 " brotherly love prevail, and every moral and social virtue 
 " cement us," w^ith the universal response of " Amen" — fell 
 upon our ears impressively. 
 
 On the next night of meeting, the initiates v^-ere of course 
 allowed to be present at the opening of tlie lodge : and 
 equally impressive on that occasion was the ceremony, as 
 at the conclusion of the last sitting — every thing being con- 
 ducted in such manner as to inculcate respect for those in 
 authority, with solemn reverence and adoration for the dei- 
 ty, whose blessing and direction in our labors, was invoked 
 — ^not in a light and thoughtless manner, as some may per- 
 haps infer, but with the gravity and decency of a well regu- 
 lated church. The charge on opening a lodge, is in the words 
 of the 1 33d psalm : — " Behold ! how good and how plea« 
 " sant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like 
 " the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon 
 " the beard, even Auron's beard, that went down to the skirts' 
 " of his garments ; as the dew of Hermon, that descended 
 " upon the mountains of Zion ; for there the Lord com- 
 *' manded a blessing, even life for evermore." Such a 
 
 , charge, being appropriately pronounced to an audience ap- 
 parently feeling the force of every word, was certainly well 
 calculated to arrest the attention, and, for a time at least, ta 
 soften the asperities of temper, to chasten the mind and the 
 
 , • heart, and in all respects to make a favorable impression, 
 even upon those whose temperaments and habits were not 
 of a decidedly religious character. 
 
 And here — (for I shall probably not have a better place) — 
 it occurs to me to answer an oft-repeated accusation against 
 the Masons, which has not been originated, like many others, 
 since the Morgan outrage, and the consequent excitement, 
 
 V but which is of long standing : I mean the charge of in» 
 temperance, and riotous excesses, in the lodges ; and that* 
 
LETTER II, 19 
 
 too, at the expense of the funds, collected, as it is pretended, 
 for charitable purposes. I know not what may have been 
 the practice in lodges, and among Masons, capable of plot- 
 ting the abduction, and compassing the murder, of a free ci- 
 tizen. But I do know, that within what was once the wide 
 circle of my Masonic acquaintance, the charge is wholly,, 
 and in all respects, untrue. There are portions of the cere- 
 monies, that necessarily create some noise, and apparent 
 confusion, and which, being heard in other parts of the hous- 
 es containing lodge-rooms, may, and probably have, at 
 times, induced the opinion, that the sounds arose from carou- 
 sals, and obstreperous mirth. Yet, as far as my observation 
 has extended, such was not the fact. When I first joined 
 the order, and for about two years thereafter, it was the 
 custom " to call from labor to refreshment," to be technical 
 again, for a short time before the final closing of the lodge. 
 But the refreshments were invariably of the most simple 
 description, being confined to crackers and cheese, and 
 sometimes a cold cut of ham, with a moderate supply of 
 cider, or spirits and water — nothing more. Wine was ne- 
 ver introduced, except on the two festivals of John the Bap- 
 tist, and the Evangelist — these two being the only festivals 
 the celebration of which was allowed within the lodges. 
 Even those simple and very frugal refreshments were pro- 
 hibited, however, in the year 1817, by the Grand Lodge, and 
 from that day to the present, no ardent spirits have been 
 allowed within the lodges. When the lodge was temporari- 
 ly closed, for refreshment, the members were told that they 
 might enjoy themselves with innocent mirth ; but the charge 
 was explicit — " You are carefully to avoid excess. You 
 *' are not to compel any brother to act contrary to his incli- 
 ^' nation, or give ofifence by word or deed, but enjoy a free 
 « and easy conversation. You are to use no immoral or 
 *' obscene discourse, but at all times to support with proprie- 
 ** ty, the dignity of your character," 
 
20 LETTER ir. 
 
 It is true that in some of the more select lodges, *feueh as 
 the Holland Lodge, and the Adclphi, in this city, suppers 
 are spread, at the close of the winter monthly communica- 
 tions ; and collations of cold tongues, fruits, &:c., during the 
 warm season. But these meals are, in all cases, paid for 
 by the private subscriptions of members. In no instance, 
 previously to the year 1827, did I ever know, or even sus- 
 pect, a prodigal or improper use of the fund sacred to the 
 cause of charity. And in no societies of men, associated for 
 any purpose whatever, have I uniformly witnessed more 
 grave, orderly and decorous conduct than in the lodge room. 
 The prayers of the various services are as devotional as the 
 excellent Hturgy of the episcopal church ; and whenever 
 clergymen have been present, as members, or visiting breth- 
 ren, the practice has usually been to lay aside the forms, 
 and request them to officiate in their stead. I have now in 
 my eye, several clergymen, some of them in this city, emi- 
 nent for their talents and piety, to whom I could appeal for 
 the correctness of this declaration. So far, then, as it re- 
 spects the charges of rio^tous and excessive eating and 
 drinking, of disorderly and unseemly conduct in the lodge- 
 room, and of wasting or perverting the charity funds, I 
 trust that I have succeeded in eflacing the misrepresenta- 
 tion. Yet, still, I am not prepared to deny, that the tenden- 
 cy of frequent lodge meetings, operating upon men of weak 
 minds and idle habits — men, in short, who ought never to 
 have been admitted as members — may not always have 
 been of the happiest description. The frequent association 
 of numbers of men, at taverns, particularly in country villa- 
 ges, and the keeping of late hours, have always an unfavorable 
 effect upon the morals of those who thus assemble together. 
 But the effect is equally pernicious, and equally certain, 
 whether these collections are occasioned by Masonic lodg- 
 es, or sheriffs' juries, or justices' courts, military trainings, 
 cattle shows, or country auctions. And if Masons fall into 
 
LETTER II* 21 
 
 habits of indolence or intemperance, in consequence of clus- 
 tering together at public houses, they do so in defiance 
 alike of the example and instruction of the lodge-room, 
 where they are solemnly charged " to avoid all irregularity 
 " and intei^perance." And if, therefore, the same vices beset 
 the hangers-on of petty courts, and the loungers about coun- 
 try stores, (fee, why should the Masonic lodges alone be 
 singled out for condemnation? But I have digressed 
 farther than I had intended, and must return to the subject 
 directly in hand, viz : the second degree, or step, of Free- 
 masonry. 
 
 In the course of the ceremonies of this second, or fellowr 
 craft's degree, there was a recapitulation of the ceremonies 
 of the first. The emblems of the degree, we were told, 
 v/ere the plumb-line, the square, and the level — the first ad- 
 monishing us to walk uprightly before God and man ; the 
 second, to square our actions by the square of virtue ; and 
 the third, that We are all travelling upon the level of time, 
 " to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no tra- 
 " veller returns." The idea of the plumb-line is taken from 
 the prophecy of Amos, vii. 7, 8, which is read in conferring 
 the degree. The lessons and lectures of this degree are 
 copious, embracing the definitions of operative and specula- 
 tive Masonry ; some account of the globe and its uses, well 
 adapted to a juvenile class in a common school ; brief and 
 correct accounts of the five several orders of architecture, 
 of which, however, we were told that no more than three 
 were revered by Masonry, viz : the original Doric, Ionic» 
 and Corinthian orders. Next followed an analysis of the 
 five external senses, of hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, 
 tasting. To this succeeded a rapid explanation of what 
 were denominated the seven liberal arts and sciences, viz : 
 grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music and 
 astronomy — all of which, with the illustrations thereto added, 
 would no doubt have been vastly edifying to the younger 
 
^ LETTER Hi. 
 
 inmates of a boarding school, and would, unquestionably, 
 have imprinted on their tender minds many wise and seri- 
 ous truths. With a charge to study these liberal arts ; to 
 believe that Masonry and Geometry were originally the 
 same thing ; to observe the rules and regulations of the or- 
 der ; and an admonition never to palliate or aggravate the 
 offences of our brethren, but in the decision of every rule to 
 judge with candor, admonish with friendship, and reprehend 
 with justice, we found ourselves fellow-craftsmen, " worthy 
 «' and well qualified," — and the lodge was closed. 
 
 Thus far my companions and myself — for we continued 
 to travel together the whole journey, after Masonic light — 
 had certainly made no discovery of any grand secret ; but 
 as we had seen nothing that struck us as being particularly 
 objectionable — nothing, in fact, but what was promotive of 
 philanthropy and benevolence — of pure morality, if not of 
 the more active principles of religion — and as we were pro- 
 mised much of the " sublime and beautiful" in the degree 
 next in order, we were induced to proceed. 
 
 Accept, sir, the renewed assurances of my high conside- 
 j:ation, &e. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 New- York, Nov. 27, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 Having described my entrance into the portals of the 
 Masonic edifice in my last communication, the next duty en- 
 joined upon myself, is the discussion of the third step of Free- 
 masonry, viz: "the sublime degree of a master Mason." 
 It is the obligation supposed lo be given in this degree, in 
 connexion with that of the seventh, or royal arch, against 
 wiiich tlie greatest objections have been raised by the Antr- 
 
JLETTER III 23 
 
 masonic party; although you, sir, have assured me, that the 
 obligation supposed to be administered in conferring the 
 first degree, is quite enough, in your view, to estabhsh the 
 wicked character of the institution. You will, however, have 
 perceived, sir, that in neither of the preceding degrees, of 
 which it is believed a true and faithful account has been 
 given, have I spoken of the obligations. My object in 
 avoiding them at the present time, is, that they may be 
 made the subject of separate consideration, in a subsequent 
 letter. 
 
 After the lodge has been regularly opened in this degree, 
 the work is introduced, on the entrance of the candidate, by 
 the reading of that beautiful and exquisitely touching portion 
 of the penitential hymn of king Solomon, called the Ecclesi- 
 astes, xii. 1, 7, — "Remember now thy creator in the days of 
 *'^thy youth," &c. In the course of the ceremonies, there is 
 a prayer of deep devotion and pathos, composed of some of 
 the most sublime and affecting passages of that splendid sa- 
 cred drama of Araby, the book of Job. This prayer in- 
 cludes a portion of the burial service of the protestant epis- 
 copal church, and is full of tenderness and beauty. The 
 working tools of the master Mason, we were informed, were 
 the same as those used in the preceding degrees, with the 
 addition of the trowel — an implement used in operative Ma- 
 sonry in spreading the cement which unites the building into 
 one common mass; but in speculative Masonry, it is a fig- 
 urative instrument for spreading the cement of brotherly 
 love. The emblems presented and explained in this degree, 
 were — the pot of incense, indicating that a pure heart is 
 ever an acceptable sacrifice to the deity, " and as this glows 
 *^ with fervent heat, so should our hearts glow with grati- 
 « tude to the great and beneficent author of our existence, for 
 «* the manifold blessings and comforts we enjoy." The book 
 of constitutions, guarded by the tyler's sword, teaches watch- 
 fulness and caution, in our thoughts, words and action?. 
 
24 LETTER III. 
 
 The sword pointing to a naked heart, denotes that justice 
 will sooner or later overtake us ; while the all-seeing eye, 
 reminds us that our thoughts, words and actions, though hid- 
 den from the eyes of men, are ever scanned by the search- 
 er of hearts. Hope, is of course indicated by the anchor, 
 and the ark is to waft those who spend their lives well, over 
 the troublesome sea of life, into that peaceful haven, " where 
 ^* the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at 
 « rest." We were told that the 47th problem of Euclid is 
 introduced into this degree, as a stimulus to Masons to be- 
 come lovers of the arts. The hour glass and the scythe, were 
 duly explained ; the former as an emblem of human life, the 
 sands of which are swiftly running away ; and the latter to 
 show how easily the brittle thread of life is cut, and what 
 havoc is made by the scythe of time. The last emblems of 
 this degree, are the three steps delineated on the Masonic 
 carpet, representing the three stages of human life — youth^ 
 manhood, and age. In youth we were charged to be in- 
 dustrious and acquire knowledge, as entered apprentices ; in 
 manhood to apply our knowledge in a suitable discharge of 
 our duties to God, our neighbors, and ourselves ; and in age 
 to enjoy the consolations of a well-spent hfe, in the hope of 
 a glorious immortality. Another definition which I have 
 seen in a book upon Masonry, but never heard in a lodge, 
 is, that the three degrees, or steps, are emblems of the three 
 divine dispensations of grace, — the antediluvian, the ma- 
 sonic, and the christian : the first inculcating the religion 
 of nature ; and the others the existence of a God, and our 
 duty to him and our neighbors. I know not whether this 
 has ever been used in a lodge. But that the antediluvian 
 age was the era of natural religion, particularly, is not a very 
 sound proposition in theology. 
 
 The illustrations of these several emblems, as in the pre- 
 ceding degrees, were well enough ; but still I cannot deny 
 that they have the appearance of puerility. I have often 
 
LETTER III. 
 
 m 
 
 been amused, however, at the close resemblance existing 
 between the explanation of the hour glass, which no doubt has 
 been correctly handed down to us, " in due and ancient form," 
 and a memorable passage of Shakspeare. In the explana- 
 tion of this emblem, the candidate is admonished, at the close, 
 almost in the very words of the great dramatist, — " Thus 
 ** wastes man ! to-day, he puts forth the tender leaves of hope ; 
 " to-morrow blossoms, and bears his blushing honors thick 
 *' upon him ; the next day comes a frost, which nips the 
 *' shoot, and when he thinks his greatness is still aspiring, 
 *' he falls, like autumn leaves to enrich our mother earth." 
 It has been urged by unbelievers in the high antiqui- 
 ty of Masonry, that the bard of Avon, who has ranged 
 air, earth, and ocean, in search of similes and figures of 
 speech, would in some way or other have alluded to the 
 Freemasons, had the institution been known in his day. 
 Undoubtedly some of the heroes, wise men, or clowns of 
 his plays, would have had something to say of, or about, 
 Masonry,— some commendations to bestow^ upon it, or satires 
 to play off at its expense, had the society been then in exis- 
 tence. The fact, I believe, is true, that Shakspeare has not 
 allowed either Falstaff, or Dame Quickly, or any other of 
 his real or imaginary characters, to allude to the institution. 
 And yet Cardinal Wolsey, when "bidding farewell to all his 
 "greatness," soliloquises in the same terms, quoted above, 
 with scarcely a change of words, and those only making the 
 language rather more poetical. 
 
 " This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth 
 The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, 
 And bears his blushing honors thick upon him : 
 The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ; 
 And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely 
 His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, — 
 And then befalls, as I do." 
 
 Now, whether Shakspeare borrowed from the archives 
 i»f Masonry, or the Masons from Shakspeare, is a point 
 
 4 
 
26 LETTER III. 
 
 which I will leave it for the wisdom of others to determiner 
 in such manner as may best suit their own views. 
 
 This third degree is a favorite with Masons generally^ 
 being considered rather as a chef d'aeuvre in the craft, not 
 even excepting the more exalted degree of the royal arch. 
 Indeed, properly speaking,, there are but three degrees of 
 ancient Masonry, all others having been engrafted upon the 
 original stock, within the last hundred years, as will more 
 fully appear hereafter. It is in this degree that king Solo- 
 mon is first introduced as an illustrious exemplar of Mason- 
 ry ; and it is here, also, that the lights of Masonic tradition 
 are first suffered to shine upon the candidates — lights whose 
 rays, of course, never gleam athwart the vision of the un- 
 initiated world- 
 
 The ceremonies of this degree, exclusive of the mere 
 forms of proceeding in imposing the obligation, and giving the 
 moral instructions already noticed,, are dramatic, and there 
 is an enactment of a tragedy — not a real c«ie, however, like 
 that of Niagara — but a representation intended ta exempli- 
 fy a singular instance of virtue, fortitude, and integrity. 
 In the course of the lecture, the history of the building 
 of Solomon's temple is adverted to, and if the lodge-room is 
 well furnished, a drawing of the edifice is exhibited — suck 
 as we all have seen, though upon a larger scale, drafted, 
 of course, from the unscientific and altogether unsatisfactory 
 account of that splendid monument af the wealth of the 
 wisest of kings, as contauied in the books of Kings 
 and Chronicles. Explanations are attempted of the size of 
 the temple, the number of columns, pilasters^ &c., and a 
 variety of architectural details, which it is quite unnecessa- 
 ry for me to enumerate. The account of the scriptures^ 
 eorroborated by Josephus, is given, of the number of work- 
 men employed in the preparation of materials, and in rear- 
 ing this wonderful structure. The 70,000 porters of bur- 
 dens, of the scriptures, are masonically called entered ap- 
 
LETTER III. 27 
 
 prentices ; and in like manner, the 80,000 hewers of stone, 
 are denominated fellow-crafts. The sacred historian in- 
 forms us that "Besides the chief of Solomon's officers that 
 " were over the work, there were three thousand and three 
 " hundred which ruled over the people that wrought in the 
 ** work." The Masonic tradition assures us that these 3300 
 were masters ; and over the whole number, three grand mas- 
 ters presided. These t-hree grand masters were Solomon, 
 king of Israel -, Hiram, king of Tyre ; and Hiram AbifF, the 
 chief artist, and the widow's son, mentioned in 1 Kings, vii, 
 14, and again, 2 Chron., ii. 13. These three grand -officers 
 had systematized the orders of Masonry — they alone pos- 
 sessing the master Mason's word. It was intended, of 
 course, by the numerous entered apprentices and fellow- 
 crafts, that when the temple was completed, and they should 
 go forth upon the wide world for employment, the bond of 
 union formed while building the temple, should be preserv- 
 ed ; while it was believed that the reputation acquired by 
 having been engaged upon such an edifice as the mighty 
 temple of the Hebrew Deity, would give them advantages 
 over all other Masons, wherever they might go. The 
 master Mason's word, in the possession only of the three 
 grand masters, it was understood, was to be given at the 
 completion of the temple, to such of the fellow-crafts, &c« 
 as should be found worthy — but it could only be given by 
 the three. However, three ruffians, named Jubeia, Jubelo, 
 and Jubelum, jealous lest they should at last be turned 
 away ignorant of the inestimable secret, finally way-laid 
 the grand master artizan, in the sanctum sanctorum of the 
 temple, where he was wont, daily, to go to worship God and 
 draw his designs, with the intention of extorting the secret 
 from him, or taking his life. Faithful to his trust, the wi- 
 dow's son retained the secret, and the ruffians murdered him. 
 They buried him secretly, and fled. Pursuers were sent in 
 :all directions — the villains were he^rd of on the way to 
 
28 LETTER III. 
 
 Joppa — some of the fellow crafts, in pursuit, overheard them 
 bewailing their conduct from the cleft of a rock in which 
 they had secreted themselves ; — and, to make a long story 
 short, they were arrested, and taken back to king Solomon, 
 by whose order they were masonically executed. The 
 murdered body of Hiram was afterwards found, by a mere 
 accident, where it had been buried, in a hill-side. In deposit- 
 ing it, the ruffians had planted over the grave a shrub of 
 cassia ; some person, when ascending the hill, taking casual- 
 ly hold of the bush for support, it came up, and the loosen- 
 ed earth beneath it, created a suspicion which led to the dis- 
 covery. Solomon, with a lodge of fellow-crafts, went out 
 to raise the corpse. With the death of Hiram, the master's 
 word was lost, because it could only be given in the pre- 
 sence, and by the assistance, of three — and at that time only 
 three persons possessed it, viz : Solomon and the two Hi- 
 rams. In this dilemma it was agreed that on raising the 
 body, the first word spoken should be and remain a substi- 
 tute for the lost master's word. 
 
 Such is an outline of the story represented in the pro- 
 cess of conferring the " sublime degree of a master Ma- 
 *'son;" — $ind it is clearly as clumsy an absurdity, — as gross 
 a fiction — as ever was palmed upon the credulity of man, — 
 violating alike history, probability, and common eense. Nor 
 is it only recently that the imposture has been confessed. 
 It was so admitted twenty-nine years ago, by the Rev. Dr. 
 Dalcho, a distinguished member of the craft, then grand 
 master of South Carolina, in a masonic oration delivered 
 by him in 1803. " I candidly confess," says the Rev. 
 grand master, " that I feel a very great degree of embar- 
 •< rassment while I am relating to ministers of Gbd's holy 
 " word, or to any other gentleman, a story founded on the 
 "grossest errors of accumulated ages ; errors which they 
 " can prove to me to be such from the sacred pages of holy 
 *^ writ, and from profane history, written by men of integ;rir 
 
LETTER III. 29 
 
 »•' ty and talents, and that, too, in a minute after I have 
 ^ solemnly pronounced them to be undeniable truths ; even 
 *' by that very bible on which I have received their obliga- 
 " tion." Professor Stuart, of Andover, one of the most skill- 
 ful linguists, and learned men in our country, has also shov^n, 
 from the internal evidences of our own books, that the whole 
 story of these assassins, as narrated in the legend, is an im- 
 posture, since, most unfortunately for the authenticity of our 
 tradition, the names of the ruffians, Jubcla, Jubelo, and Ju- 
 belum, have been clumsily formed from the Latin language, 
 and not from the Hebrew, to which they have no affinity 
 whatever. All Hebrew names are significant, and have a 
 Hebrew shape — a fact of itself conclusive upon this ques- 
 tion. Yet, grossly improbable as the tradition is, in a well- 
 instructed lodge, where the officers and members are expert, 
 and thoroughly understand their duties, I have repeatedly 
 seen the whole tragedy of the death, burial, and resurrec- 
 tion of the unfortunate Hiram, represented with no small 
 share of dramatic effect. But, sir, I fancy you will be rea- 
 dy to exclaim — " How could men of sense ever submit to 
 " have such absurdities palmed upon their understandings, 
 " or how listen for a moment to such self-evident and puerile 
 " fictions 1" Perhaps a reply to this query may be found in 
 that trait of the human character which delights in scenic 
 representations. Statesmen and philosophers attend thea- 
 trical exhibitions, where the most absurd and preposterous 
 spenes are enacted — scenes founded on fiction, and attended 
 with the grossest improbabihties of time, place and circum- 
 stance. What can be more absurd than the courtship of 
 Anne by the murderer of her husband, in Richard HI ? 
 What more unlikely than the espousal of a swarthy Moor 
 by the fair Desdemona, in Othello ? What more preposte- 
 rous than the character of Caliban, in the Tempest ? And 
 yet these dramas are not only attended by philosophers, 
 ^ but those philosophers often enter into all the pseudo-phrenzy 
 
so LETTER HI. 
 
 of the actor, and sympathetically weep over distress which 
 they know to be feigned. The fact I take to be this. Meia 
 of information must, in all instances, know that the tradition 
 is idle, and the tale, with all its attending circumstances, an 
 •imposture. But still, they find themselves involved in the 
 institution, " of their own free will and accord," — at every 
 step they have been exhorted to works of philanthropy and 
 benevolence, — they have been told much respecting the 
 glory of science, the beauty of virtue, and the value of truth ; 
 — they find themselves in the midst of an agi'eeable social 
 circle, and even the sham-tragedy itself, though ludicrous on 
 sober reflection, is yet evidently intended merely to incul- 
 cate a strong lesson of fidelity ; — the whole ceremonies, 
 moreover, instead of exhibiting the frantic riotings of bac- 
 channals, as many have represented, being often chastened 
 with solemn religious associations, in a manner remarkably 
 pleasing and picturesque. It is this aspect of the case, as I 
 have reason to believe, that has induced thousands and tens 
 of thousands of infellectual and virtuous men, to adhere to 
 Masonry, notwithstanding its frivolities, and its fictions. 
 They have found nothing hurtful in it ; — if there be trifling in 
 some portions of the ceremonies, it takes place only amongst 
 themselves ; and they concur in the sentiment of Horace, 
 that " dulcc est desipere in loco." It is agreeable, moreover, 
 as a social institution — and of great use on account of ita 
 charities. 
 
 Still, on reflection, I am free to declare my later convic- 
 tions, that this degree has not been altogether harmless. 
 There are no doubt many thousands of weak and igno- 
 rant men, who have taken the story of Hiram Abiff* for 
 solemn verity, in all its details. Such men would not stop 
 to reflect that the 70,000 entered apprentices, and 80,000 
 iellow craftsmen, of whom they had been told in the lecture, 
 w-ere in fact not Israelites, but the slaves of the Canaanitish 
 race, vvdth whom, of course, Solomon and his officers held 
 
LETTiER Hi* 3t 
 
 no more communication than a southern planter does witk 
 his negroes ; — nor would they think of the absurdity of kil- 
 ling Hiram Abiff in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, 
 before the temple itself was built, and where, even when it 
 was built, king Solomon could not enter, but only the high 
 priest once a year. Nor would they stop to reconcile all 
 the other difficulties which stamp fiction on every point of 
 the relation. When, therefore, Morgan was murdered — if 
 such were his fate, — men thus blinded, or thus ignorant, 
 , may have supposed that they were only acting as Solomon 
 did in respect to the imaginary Jubela, Jubelo and Jube- 
 lum,and as he would have done had he then been present, and 
 had Morgan been in his custody. And yet, on the other hand 
 — (for I propose to hold the balance impartially) — candor 
 requires us to admit the application of the rule, that we 
 ought not to argue against the use of a thing from its aintse, 
 Addison has been universally deemed not only a moral wri- 
 ter, but a pious man. Yet, even from his writings, abuses 
 have sprung. The anecdote is familiar, of a young man in 
 London, who, not long after the publication of the tragedy 
 of Cato, committed suicide, leaving that work, his pistol, and 
 the following sentiment in justification of the act, upon his 
 table : — " What Plato said — what Cato did — and what Ad- 
 liison approved, cannot he wi^ong." 
 
 It is this degree in which the grand hailing sign of distress 
 is conferred — a sign which has been represented as being of 
 such a potent, irresistable, and dangerous nature. Some of 
 the Masons have inferred, that when Alexander of Macedon, 
 according to Judas Maccabeus and Josephus, on approach- 
 ing the holy city with his victorious legions, was so suddenly 
 disarmed, on tlie approach of the high priest in his robes, 
 accompanied by his pontifical retinue, to meet him, the 
 change was . wrought by the influence of Masonry — tlie 
 grand hailing sign. According to the legend, the high priest 
 and the conqueror mutually and simultaneously recognised 
 
32 LETTER IV. 
 
 each other as brethren of the mystic tie. Hence, it has been 
 argued, the sudden change of the conqueror from the belh- 
 gerent to the pacific and friendly temperament. While 
 there is no just foundation for this supposition, it is, never- 
 'theless, a well attested fact, that numbers of American offi- 
 cers, during the war of our revolution, were rescued from 
 the blazing faggots of the savages in alliance with England, 
 by the talismanic influence of that signal. That it was ever 
 perverted to a bad use, I have no knowledge, nor any suffi- 
 cient reason to suppose. 
 
 The final charge in the master s degree, contains nothing 
 requiring particular note. It is shorter than the charges of 
 the preceding degrees, and directs the new made brother to 
 inculcate universal benevolence in precept and by example ; 
 to preserve the ancient land-marks of the order ; to correct 
 the errors and irregularities of uninformed brethren ; to be 
 faithful to his vows ; to recommend obedience and submis- 
 sion to superiors ; courtesy and affability to equals ; kind- 
 ness and condescension to inferiors ; and in all respects to 
 sustain a reputation of virtue and honor. 
 
 With great respect, I am, &r. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 New- York, Nov. 30, 1831. 
 
 The degree of speculative Masonry next to be consid- 
 ered, is that of Mark Master. It was incidentally mention- 
 ed in my last communication, that, properly speaking, there 
 were but three degrees of ancient Masonry, although mo- 
 dern innovators, in this and various other countries, have 
 increased the number to seven. But three degrees only are 
 now allowed by law in England. In the year 1799, an act 
 
LETTER IV. 3S 
 
 was passed by the British parHament, entitled " An act for 
 " the suppression of societies for seditious and treasonable 
 " purposes," which prohibited the meetings, or administering 
 the oaths, of any masonic bodies, excepting the lodges of 
 ancient York Masons, then in existence, and comprising 
 only three degrees. By the provisions of that act, the for- 
 mation of new lodges was in effect prohibited, and those 
 already in operation, were to be suppressed, unless they 
 were registered under oath, and complied with certain strict 
 legal provisions, intended to prevent their becoming dan- 
 gerous to the state. On receiving this act, the Grand Lodge 
 of Scotland issued an address to the fraternity under its 
 jurisdiction, directing the several lodges to take eflectual 
 steps for enforcing its observance. Every lodge so observ- 
 ing and enforcing the law, was within six months to apply 
 for a renewal of power to hold their meetings ; and every 
 lodge not so complying with the law, and affording evidence 
 thereof to the grand lodge, was to be expunged from the 
 grand roll. 
 
 The first masonic work ever printed, was that of Dr. 
 Anderson, which I have now before me. It was published 
 in London, in 1723, and treats of only three degrees. As 
 this work was an authorised collection of masonic consti- 
 tutions, in connexion with a fabulous and very pompous 
 history of the institution, the profound silence observed as 
 to all degrees above the third, or master Mason's, is very 
 strong evidence that, one hundred and nine years ago, no 
 other degree was in existence. The first lodge authorised 
 in America, was in New- Jersey, in 1730, and the next in 
 Boston, in 1733, — both under the constitutions of Ander- 
 son. In Lawrie's History of Freemasonry, and of the 
 Grand Lodge of Scotland, an official authority, published 
 at Edinburgh, in 1804, I find an instruction to the provin- 
 cial grand master, " to inquire into the orders and degrees 
 " of Masonry practised," and " prohibiting the practising of 
 
34 LETTER IT. 
 
 « any other than St. John's Masonry, consisting of appren- 
 ** tice, fellow-craft, and master mason, the only three de- 
 " grees sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of Scotland." And 
 the united Grand Lodges of ancient and modern Masons, in 
 London, declared, in 1813, " that all ancient Freemasonry 
 "is yet contained in the first three degrees" 
 
 It is certain, therefore, that but three degrees can be law- 
 fully practised in the United Kingdonfi, although I have an 
 impression that others are clandestinely conferred. The 
 mark-master's degree, however, of which I am now about 
 to speak, has ever been given in England, in connexion with, 
 and as a part of, the second, or fellow-craft's degree. Such 
 it in fact must have been ; and I can divine no reason for 
 the separation, unless it was supposed that by this multipli- 
 cation of degrees, the resources of the society would be 
 increased in a corresponding ratio. Another reason, per- 
 haps, may also be found, applying in some instances, in the 
 fact, that by multiplying the number of degrees, persons 
 who valued their character, and wished their association to 
 be select, could exclude from their intercourse in the lodge, 
 all such persons as had been improvidently or improperly 
 introduced into the inferior degrees. But even in this view 
 of the case, I can perceive no cause for interposing the third 
 degree between what were evidently,, at first, two consecu- 
 tive sections of the same chapter in the science. Never- 
 theless, it is so laid down in the books, and in the practice ; 
 and I shall "govern myself accordingly." 
 
 TIk) charge at the opening of the lodge in this degree, is 
 as follows: — ^'* Wherefore, brethren, lay aside all malice, 
 ^* and guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speak- 
 •* ings, if so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gra- 
 " cious, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed 
 •• indeed, of men, but chosen of God, and precious ; ye also, 
 "as living stones, be ye built up a spiritual house, an holy 
 ^priesthood, to ofibr up sacrifices acceptable to God. 
 
LETTER IV. 35 
 
 *- Wherefore, also, it is contained in the scriptures, Behold, 
 ^ I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious 
 '" corner stone, a sure foundation ; he that believeth shall 
 ^'not make haste to pass it over. Unto you, therefore, 
 '" which believe, it is an honor ; and even to those which be 
 " disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the 
 ** same is made the head of the corner. Brethren, this is 
 >« the will of God, that with well-doing ye put to silence the 
 *' ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your 
 ■*' liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of 
 -** God. Honor all men : love the brotherhood : fear God."* 
 
 No fault can be found with the spirit of this exhortation, 
 although it must be confessed, that, where the writer of the 
 formulary, in adapting the lesson to his purpose, has devia- 
 ted from the sacred text, he has not improved upon the 
 language of the apostle. In sober earnest, however, I can- 
 not refrain from expressing, in this place, the strong dislike 
 I feel at any alteration or modification of the pure words of 
 inspiration, for whatever purpose, even when such alteration 
 may have been made from the best possible motives. There 
 is danger in every innovation upon the sacred text 
 
 In conferring the degree, the aid of another tradition is 
 -called forth. The story is, that tlie degree was instituted 
 to enable the overseers of the work to detect impostors, on 
 paying the wages of the fellow-craftsmen, — for which pur- 
 pose every craftsman had a sign, and a mark of his own, 
 known by the proper officer. The penalty for a detected 
 impostor, was amputation of the right hand. It happened, 
 on one occasion, that a young fellow-craftsman discovered 
 in the quarries, a peculiar stone, of singular form, and beau- 
 tifully wrought. Throwing away his own work, he brought 
 this specimen up for inspection, which, being neither a 
 square, nor an oblong square, was rejected hj the overseers, 
 
 * Vide i. Peter, chap. 2^ 
 
36 LETTER IV. 
 
 and thrown away among the rubbish ; the young man con- 
 fessed very frankly his offence, — that of substituting another's 
 work for his own, — but stated that he had been induced to 
 bring up the stone only in consequence of its peculiar form 
 and beauty. He was readily pardoned. Subsequently, 
 when in the act of completing one of the arches of the foun- 
 dation of the temple, the key-stone was found to be want- 
 ing. It had been wrought in the quarries by our grand mas- 
 ter Hiram Abiff himself, and designated by his own mark. 
 Search was made for the stone ; the circumstance of the 
 young fellow-craftsman was recalled ; and the key to the 
 arch was found where it had been cast away as worthless. 
 In the progress of the ceremonies, all of which are enacted 
 in a dramatic form, the master again descants upon the archi- 
 tectural knowledge and taste of Solomon's time, and reca- 
 pitulates the history of the building the temple ; the number 
 of workmen engaged upon it ; and the modes adopted for 
 punishing the guilty, and rewarding the virtuous. Various 
 passages of scripture are cited during the ceremonies, which 
 it would be quite unnecessary to quote at length.* They 
 all, excepting the two last, refer to the repeated figurative, 
 or symbolical references of the scriptures, both in the pro- 
 phecies and the gospels, to the Saviour of men, as a stone, a 
 chief corner stone, a precious stone, an elect stone, &c., — 
 used by the inspired writers to signify his perfection, his 
 firmness and perpetuity, as the foundation and supporter of 
 the whole christian church, and the work of man's redemp- 
 tion. The passage from Ezekiel seems only to have been 
 introdiiced because of certain words analagous to the name 
 of the degree. 
 
 The kej'^-stone above mentioned, a pattern of which with 
 no little inconvenience, is carried about in the moving cere- 
 
 ♦ Vide Rev. ii. 17. ; 2. Chron. ii. 16. ; Psalms cxviii. 22. ; Matt. xxi. 42. ; 
 Mark xii. 10. ; Luke xx. J7. ; Acts iv. 11. ; Rev. iii. 13. ; and Ezekiel 
 yliv. 1, 3 &. 5. 
 
LETTER IV. 37 
 
 inouies by the candidate, contains, as I have before observ- 
 ed, a mark. This mark is a circle formed of certain letters — 
 but though cabahstical, their secret meamng is not of the 
 least use or importance to the public, and is withal entirely- 
 harmless. Every mark-master has a right to procure an 
 engraving of these letters, upon a piece of plate, or a medal ; 
 he is to choose hi,^ ow^n peculiar mark, which is to be en- 
 graved within the circle of letters, and never to be changed. 
 This mark may be of use in cases of pecuniary extremity. 
 A brother mark-master wishing to borrow a sum of money, 
 can pledge his mark for the faithful payment thereof ; and 
 it would be disgraceful, and cost his expulsion, not to re- 
 deem it. Whenever a mark-master Mason sends his mark 
 to a brother requesting a loan, the latter cannot return it 
 even though it be inconvenient to make the loan ; (or, even 
 though the brother thus applied to should entertain a dis- 
 trust as to the re-payment of the money,) without accompa- 
 nying it wdth the sum of twenty-five cents, or a half shekel 
 of silver. The reason for this last regulation is this : — The 
 person sending for the loan, might be in distress even for 
 food, and the small sum of twenty-five cents would always 
 afford temporary relief — or at least a meal of victuals to the 
 hungry. The practical illustrations which accompany this 
 portion of the lecture, are peculiarly striking and effective. 
 The candidate is taught how poor and needy, destitute and 
 helpless, he may become ; and in his own person he feels the 
 dependence, which, in the hour of misfortune, may one day 
 overtake us all ; and he feels, also, the necessity of relying 
 upon the hand of friendship and charity in the hour of trial. 
 The representation may be pronounced puerile by those who 
 witness the counterfeit presentments of the show-men ; but 
 I am free to confess that it impressed a lesson upon my mind, 
 which I hope will never be effaced. 
 
 The working tools of a mark-master, are, the mallet and 
 chisel, the explanations of which are not important. In the 
 
38 LETTER IV, 
 
 brief charge to the candidate in this degree, he is exhorted 
 to lead a pure Hfe, that in the end he may not, like unfinish- 
 ed and imperfect work, be rejected and thrown aside, as un- 
 fit for that spiritual building, " that house not made with 
 *' hands, eternal in the heavens." Before closing the lodge, 
 the parable of the laborers of the vineyard, who murmured 
 at the good man of the house because ihose who came at 
 the eleventh hour received as much wages as those who had 
 toiled through the heat and burden of the day, is read by 
 the master. There is a practical illustration of the parable, 
 which imparts interest to the degree, and instruction in the 
 application. 
 
 The fifth degree, being that of Past Master, is next in or- 
 der ; but as it does not profess to advance the candidate 
 much farther in his journey in search of the grand arcanum 
 of the order, it can be very speedily disposed of. It is cal- 
 led the Past Master's Degree, from the circumstance that 
 every man must pass the chair of the master, before he can 
 preside over a lodge of master masons. The degree is usu- 
 ally conferred by chapters of Royal Arch Masons ; but any 
 master mason, on being elected to preside over a lodge, is 
 entitled to receive this degree, without placing himself with- 
 in the jurisdiction of the chapter, and must receive it, 
 before he can enter upon the discharge of his official duties. 
 When, therefore, any Mason of three degrees only, is elect- 
 ed master of a lodge, a pro. tern, lodge of individual past 
 masters is organized, specially, for the purpose of conferring 
 this degree. And when a master Mason has thus received 
 it, he is eligible to the office of master of the Grand Lodge, 
 and thus becomes grand master. Hence, sir, you will per- 
 <;eive, that a man who is not in fact a high Mason, may ne- 
 vertheless be' dignified by a grand title. Such is in truth the 
 position of a distinguished citizen of Kentucky, who is now 
 a candidate for that exalted station which was lately filled 
 by youi^elf. He has " passed the chair," but is only a Ma- 
 
L 
 
 LETTER IV. 39 
 
 ^n of three degrees ; and having once, many years ago, 
 been elected as grand master of the master Masons of Ken- 
 tucky, it has suited the present views of clamorous and 
 uncandid partizans, to make the attempt of exciting the 
 Anti-masonic prejudices against him, by proclaiming him to 
 be " a high Mason." What measure of success will attend 
 the unworthy effjrt, remains to be seen. 
 
 The chief object of this degree is to exemplify the neces- 
 sity of government, and to enforce upon the minds of those 
 who are called to govern, the importance of qualifying them- 
 selves for the skillful and efficient discharge of their duties. 
 The ceremonies of the degree are extended to no great 
 length ; but they are such as strongly to impress upon the 
 newly-elected master, a sense of his own deficiencies in the 
 matter of government, and the need he has of promptness 
 and energy in preserving the discipline of the society over 
 which he is to preside. The process of conferring the de- 
 gree — teaching by practical illustrations — is apparently 
 grave, though withal rather amusing. After the lodge is 
 opened upon the third degree, the master receives intelli- 
 gence from without, that some sudden emergency demands 
 his presence in another place, and he must consequently 
 leave the chair, and resign his office. He therefore calls 
 upon the brethren to elect a successor. Various candidates 
 are put in nomination — all of whom appear actively to elec- 
 tioneer for the station. But they are successively voted 
 down, and in the end, the unsuspecting candidate finds him- 
 self chosen master of the lodge. If he attempts to resign^ 
 it is to no pui-pose, and after making all the excuses he can, 
 pleased, nevertheless, with his early popularity among the 
 brotherhood, he ascends the chair, decorated with the jewels 
 of the station. The old master retires, and the new one 
 attempts to proceed with the business which is now rapidly 
 crowded upon his attention. He knows nothing of the rules 
 of proceeding ; — the lodge becomes confused ; — every effort 
 
4d LETTER IV. 
 
 he makes to preserve order, but adds to the confusion ; — 
 every member endeavors to augment his embarrassment ; — 
 he forgets, in liis ov^n confusion, the instructions as to the 
 method of preserving perfect silence, if nothing more, which 
 he had a few moments before received from his predeces- 
 sor ; — until, in the end, thinking he has been elected in good 
 faith, and believing, from the conduct of the brethren, that 
 he has suddenly become one of the most unpopular of men, 
 whereas he had perhaps just been exulting at his popularity, 
 he yields up his office in perfect despondency and conster- 
 nation. The old master then kindly re-appears, and soon 
 teaches him how to command order ; — for, indeed, as to 
 obedience, it frequently happens that a scrupulous compli- 
 ance with his own ignorant and inopportune mandates, has 
 occasioned the very confusion which had appalled him. The 
 new master is then advised to resign, whereupon he begins 
 to comprehend the part he has been acting, and gladly es- 
 capes from the irksome situation. I shall never forget my 
 own embarrassing exploits when first called to this trying 
 station. 
 
 It is unquestionably true, that in the proceedings I have 
 attempted thus briefly to describe, there is often much con- 
 fusion and not a little merriment, — arising solely from the 
 perplexity, and the ludicrous conduct, performed with sober 
 gravity, by the candidate. I admit that the laugh, at a man 
 thus circumstanced, may " argue want of grace ;" but the 
 couplet must be finished in extenuation ; for " to be grave," 
 would " exceed all power of face." Still, there is nothing 
 wicked, or malicious, or riotous, in all this ; although the 
 noise may have been misconstrued by those without the 
 lodge, into the wild uproar of revellers. But, a single rap, 
 at the proper moment, hushes all into instantaneous silence. 
 Indeed there is no body or society of men on earth, — no 
 meeting or assemblage, — under such strict, immediate, and 
 effective control, as a lodge or chapter of JMasons, 
 
LETTER V. 41 
 
 Ths lecture of this degree which the candidate then re- 
 ceives, is divided into numerous sections, and is very long. 
 It treats of the government of the society ; the disposition 
 of rulers ; and illustrates, (as we have just seen) the requi- 
 site qualifications. It includes the ceremony of opening and 
 closing lodges in the several preceding degrees. It com- 
 prehends, also, the forms of installations and consecrations, 
 as well in the grand, as in local lodges. Instructions are 
 likewise given at length for laying the foundations of build- 
 ings, and for their consecration. The initiate is also particu- 
 larly taught the forms of conducting the funerals of deceased 
 brethren. It would be alike tedious and unnecessary for 
 me to enter into details upon any of these points. All the 
 exercises and recitations are printed at large in the various 
 formularies extant, and so far as I have compared them, the 
 discrepancies are few and unimportant. The charges to 
 the master and wardens of a lodge, are appropriate, and 
 unexceptionable. Indeed, I should feel myself bound in 
 justice to cite a passage from the charge to the new past 
 master, in this place, were it not for the consideration that 
 it may possibly be more appropriately used elsewhere, be- 
 fore this discussion is closed. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, &c. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 New- York, Dec. 5, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 The sixth degree is that of " Most Excellent Master." 
 It professes to be a representation, on a small scale, of the 
 ceremony of completing the work of Solomon's temple, and 
 its dedication. All there is of tradition connected with tHs 
 
 6 
 
42 LETTER V. 
 
 degree, is embraced in the following morceau of unauthenti- 
 cated history :— " When the temple of Jerusalem was fin- 
 " ished, and the cap-stone celebrated, with great joy, king 
 " Solomon admitted to this degree, only those who had prov- 
 " ed themselves worthy, by their virtue, skill, and inflexible 
 « fidelity to the craft." 
 
 In opening the chapter upon this degree, the members 
 kneel around the altar, inclining their heads downwards, 
 with an air of solemn reverence, while the most excellent 
 master reads that noble lyric of the royal Hebrew poet, 
 the xxiv. Psalm. " The earth is the Lord's and the fullness 
 " thereof," &c. During the ceremony of receiving the can- 
 didate, the cxxii. Psalm is read, commencing — " I was glad 
 " when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the 
 " Lord." After the candidate has taken the obligation impo- 
 sed by the degree, the members form and march in proces- 
 sion, during the singing of an ode, set to appropriate music- 
 The only additional ceremony performed while the proces- 
 sion is thus engaged, is the adjusting of the cap-stone in a 
 mortice of an arch, which has been sprung across the room 
 from the columns of Jachin and Boaz — mere temporary 
 erections, of course. The sixth chapter of ii. Chronicles, 
 with the first four verses of the seventh, are also introduced 
 into this degree, containing Solomon's prayer of unexampled 
 sublimity, at the consecration, together with the account of 
 the resting of the cloud upon the temple, and its blazing forth 
 with insupportable splendor before the awe-struck legions of 
 Israel, while the glory of the Lord filled the house, and the 
 celestial fire flashed upon the sacrificial altar. 
 
 The charge to the candidate contains little that requires 
 special note. He is again admonished not to sacrifice his 
 good standing by misconduct, and directed to acquire a per- 
 fect knowledge of all the preceding degrees, that he may be 
 able to dispense light and truth to his uninformed brethren. 
 
 •'■f. 
 
LETTER y. 40 
 
 In closing the chapter in this degree, the members kneel 
 around the altar as before, while that truly beautiful Psalm, 
 the xxiii., is read by the most excellent master. 
 
 Thus, sir, have I attempted to give you a brief, but, I hope, 
 intelligible account of my travels though six degrees of Ma- 
 sonry, in quest of the great secret light to which we were 
 constantly approximating, but never destined to reach — cer- 
 tainly not in that effulgence which we had been led to ex- 
 pect, and of which the Masons were wont to boast, if not 
 expressly by words, at least by v/ise and knowing looks, 
 and airs of mysterious importance, w^henever the subject 
 became one of conversation and inquiry among the uninitia- 
 ted. In saying that I was travelling " in search of the great 
 secret light," you will please not understand me as writing 
 in forgetfulness of what I have asserted in a former letter. 
 I anticipated the discovery of no astounding secret. Still, I 
 believed with Locke, in one of his annotations upon an an- 
 cient masonic manuscript found in the Bodleian Library, in 
 the hand-writing, as it was supposed, of Henry VI. Of the 
 "art of keeping secrets," mentioned in the manuscript, 
 Locke says : — " What kind of an art this is, I can by no 
 "means imagine. But certainly such an art the Masons 
 " must have ; for though, as some people suppose, they 
 " should have no secret at all ; even that must be a secret, 
 " which, being discovered, would expose them to the highest 
 " ridicule ; and therefore it requires the utmost caution to 
 " conceal it."* This was in truth about the measure of my 
 belief. The result will appear in the sequel. 
 
 I have now arrived at the seventh degree — that of the 
 Royal Arch. This is the principal of the four degrees con- 
 ferred by a chapter, as the third degree is chiefest in the 
 lodge of master Masons. In the first two degrees, the as- 
 
 * The authenticity of the letter of Locke, from which I haA^e here quoted, 
 has been questioned latterly by some of the over-zealous Anti-masonic wri- 
 ters ; but so f;\r as my observation has extended, I have seen no evidence 
 whatever of its spuriousness. 
 
44 LETTER V. 
 
 piling, and often disappointed, candidate, is continually ur- 
 ged on to the third, as that which will realize all his expec- 
 tations, and satisfy all his desires. So, also, of the seventh, 
 after the candidate has stepped from the lodge-room, into 
 the court of the chapter — it is in the Royal Arch degree only, 
 he is told, where the full fruition of light and knowledge is 
 to be enjoyed — where the aspiring student, like another Pro- 
 metheus, can, as it were, steal sacred fire from the chariot 
 of the sun to kindle his genius, and hold converse, face to 
 face, with immortal truth herself, in all her perfection and 
 beauty. To quote the books of the craft, " this degree is 
 " indescribably more august, sublime, and important, than all 
 " which precede it ; and is the summit and perfection of an- 
 " cient Masonry. It impresses on our minds a belief of the 
 " being and existence of a Supreme Deity, without begin- 
 " hing of days, or end of years, and reminds us of the rever- 
 " ence due to his holy nnme." Whether it was owing to 
 these considerations alone, or whether because of the perse- 
 verance of my companions, or because disappointed curiosi- 
 ty yet occupied a corner of my head or heart, I do not ex- 
 actly recollect ; certain it is, however, that I resolved to 
 proceed to the end, and, if there were any secret, to find it — 
 if any mystery to solve it. 
 
 In opening the chapter upon this degree, the members 
 assemble around the altar, kneeling reverentially, as in the 
 degree of Most Excellent Master, and joining hands, while 
 the third chapter of 2. Thessalonians, 6—18, is read by the 
 high priest. The ceremonies of opening having been com- 
 pleted, and the chapter declared in readiness for the despatch 
 of business, the candidates for exaltation are introduced, 
 and the work commences. The conferring of this degree 
 occupies a long time — four or five hours, of continued ac- 
 tion. Its traditions are as follows : The Royal Arch Ma- 
 son is taught to believe, from the silence of the scrip- 
 tures, at certain periods, concerning the book of the law, 
 
LETTER V. 45 
 
 and the light of tradition, rabbinical and masonic, that the 
 world is indebted to Freemasonry for the preservation of 
 the Mosaic dispensation, or the pentateuch. It is asserted, 
 that, previously to the time of Ezra the scribe, who correct- 
 ed, revised, and re-wrote some of the sacred books, there is 
 no mention of more than one copy of the book of the law — 
 namely, that written by the inspired lawgiver himself. Not 
 a word is said in the scriptm-es of this book, from the com- 
 mencement and durinof the reim of Manasseh, down to the 
 time it was discovered, accidentally, as it would seem, in the 
 reign of his grandson, Josiah. Hilkiah, the high priest, had 
 thoroughly to inspect and repair the temple, and while thus 
 employed, as the sacred record itself informs us, he acci- 
 dentally discovered an authentic copy of " the book of the 
 " law of the Lord, given by Moses," and carried it straight- 
 way and laid it before the king. The king commanded him 
 to read it aloud ; but when Hilkiah arrived at those passa- 
 ges which denounced God's anger against idolaters, and 
 speak of the punishments Vv'hich should come both upon the 
 people and their sovereign, in the event of his transgressing 
 their commandments, Josiah's horror and dismay rose to 
 the highest pitch.* From the whole scripture account of 
 the finding and reading of the law, the inference is irresist- 
 ible, that it had been lost — that the king, alike with the high 
 priest, and the people, were all, in a great measure, ignorant 
 of the book, and of its contents. Such, certainly, is the fair 
 interpretation of the account of the transaction in the ii. 
 Kings, and also of the copy of Ezra, as recorded in the 
 Chronicles. Josephus corroborates this opinion, and the 
 same view is clearly entertained by Henry, the pious and 
 learned commentator, who says " the spring of life was shut' 
 " up" — " the fountain sealed," to Josiah ; and after the dis- 
 covery, he says " the things contained in the scriptures were 
 " new to Josiah." 
 
 * Gleiff's Hist. Bible. 
 
46 LETTER V. 
 
 It is also said this invaluable treasure was again missing 
 from the reign of Josiah, until the days of Ezra, after the 
 return from Babylon. Over these tv^o dark and gloomy 
 periods a veil is cast, w^hich, as the masonic writers assure 
 us, none but skilful Masons have been able to rend asunder. 
 The prophetic eye of our grand master Solomon was of 
 course enabled to foresee future events. He foresaw that 
 wicked men would sway the sceptre, who would jeopard 
 the existence of the holy law itself; and he, consequently, in 
 the erection of the temple, provided a place of safety for the 
 deposite of the sacred treasure, the knowledge of which 
 was intrusted to but few. When the idolatrous Manasseh 
 ascended the throne of Judah, to preserve the book from the 
 rude hands of infidelity and violence, it was hidden away, 
 and remained in its place of security until found by Hilkiah, 
 as before related. Again, towards the close of the reign 
 of Josiah, foreseeing the wickedness of his son and successor, 
 and also the destruction of the temple, and the carrying 
 aWay into Babylon, Huldah, the prophetess, once more se- 
 creted the law in a place where it remained until the return 
 from the captivity. It was then discovered by Ezra, Zeru- 
 babcl, and their associates, on the removal of the ruins of 
 the old temple, preparatory to the erection of the new ; — 
 ns illustrated practically in the course of giving this degree. 
 The fact of this deposite, was a masonic secret — although 
 the Masonry of Huldah, being a female, is not properly 
 avouched. But another branch of the tradition runs thus : — 
 At the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, three 
 Masons of the degree of most excellent master, were tak- 
 en and conveyed among the captives to Babylon, where 
 they remained until the restoration, during the reign of Cy- 
 rus of Persia. They were then liberated and permitted to 
 return to the holy city, to assist in the rebuilding of the tem- 
 ple. After travelling many days over rough and rugged 
 roads, they arrived at the outer veil of the tabernacle, or 
 
LETTER V. 47 
 
 sacred pavilion, erected near the ruins of the temple, in imi- 
 tation of the tabernacle of the wilderness. This tabernacle 
 was an oblong square, enclosed by four veils, or curtains, 
 and divided into separate apartments, by four cross-veils, 
 including the veil at the western entrance. The veils were 
 guarded by armed sentinels, stationed at the place of en- 
 trance through each. At the easternmost end of the taber- 
 nacle, sat Haggai, Joshua and Zerubabel, in grand council, 
 to examine those who applied for permission to assist in the 
 glorious work of rebuilding the temple. The three most 
 excellent masters before referred to, and who must have 
 been pretty well advanced in life by this time, were, on their 
 arrival, introduced to the grand council — accepted as sound 
 and robust men — furnished with tools and implements, and 
 set to work in clearing away the rubbish, preparatory to 
 laying the foundations of the new edifice, with an injunction 
 carefully to preserve every thing that might be discovered 
 appearing valuable for use, or curious for examination. 
 
 When the candidate is introduced, a long prayer is read 
 from the book of forms, or oflered extemporaneously by any 
 clergyman who may be attendance. The tedious ceremo- 
 nies then commence, representing the carrying away of the 
 captives, chained, to Babylon ; the application to return and 
 build again the holy city and the temple ; the rugged roads 
 over which they were obliged to travel, and the obstacles 
 encountered and overcome. In the course of their labors 
 among the ruins of the old temple, they strike upon a secret 
 vault, into which they descend, — as the three most-excel- 
 lent masters before mentioned are supposed to have done, — 
 and among other discoveries they find a box, standing on a 
 pedestal, curiously wrought, and overlaid with gold. This 
 is brought up and delivered to the grand council, by whom 
 it is opened, and is discovered to be none other than the 
 ark of the covenant, containing the long lost book of the law. 
 
48 LETTER V. 
 
 the pot of Manna, and Aaron's rod, wliich "budded and 
 *' bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.""*^ On the lid of 
 the box, were three mysterious characters, in a triangular 
 form, and within is discovered a key to the same, which 
 are found to signify the incommunicable name of the deity 
 — Jehovah — a name which the modern Jews superstitiously 
 decline pronouncing. From this brief — and it is a very 
 brief abstract — the design of the degree will readily sug- 
 gest itself. It is intended to inculcate a belief, that, under 
 providence, the christian world is indebted to Freemasonry 
 for the preservation, and discovery when lost, of the book 
 of the law, and also the highest reverence for the name of 
 the deity. It likewise has a direct bearing upon another 
 tenet of Masonry, viz : that the appropriate name of God, 
 and a knowledge of the Supreme Being, have been preserv- 
 ed by this institution, in every country where Masonry ex- 
 isted, while the rest of the world, and the people of those 
 heathen nations where it did exist, but who were not initia- 
 ted into its mysteries, were sunk in the darkness of pagan- 
 ism. During the process of conferring the degree, a great 
 multitude of passages of scripture are recited, some of wliich 
 are historical, while others are striking for their sublimity 
 and beauty, deeply impressive and devotional.f The lec- 
 ture which succeeds, embraces a variety of historical par- 
 ticulars respecting the first, and the rearing of the second 
 temple, together with rapid glances at the history of the 
 Jewish nation itself, from the days of Solomon to the return 
 from the captivit)^ — all of which must be familiar to those 
 who read their bibles, and the next best book of Jewish 
 history — Josephus. 
 
 ♦Numb.xvii. 8—10. 
 
 ■f The followini^ are the passages referred to : — Isaiah, xlii. 16. Exo. iii, 
 1 — 0. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 11—20. Ezra, i. 1-^3. Exod. iii. 13 — 14. Psfdm.cxli. 
 cxlii. cxliii. Exod. iv. I— 10. HapL^i. ii. 1—9—23. Zech. iv. 6—10. John, 
 i. 1_5. Dout. xxxi. 24— 26. Exod. xxv. 21. Exod. xvi. 32— .34. IS'uml. 
 xvii. 10. llcb. ix. 2— 5. Amos, ix. 11. Exod. vi. 23. 2. Chron. chap. x. 
 
I 
 
 LETTER V. 49 
 
 As a scenic representation, this degree, when conferred 
 within a chapter-room which is appropriately furnished, is 
 far-more splendid and effective, than either of its predeces- 
 sors. The pattern of the chapter is taken from the rich pa- 
 vilion-temple, erected by Moses in the wilderness. The 
 curtains are of blue, purple and scarlet — the first being an 
 emblem of universal friendship and benevolence ; the second 
 of harmony among brethren and everlasting truth ; and the 
 third inculcating fervency of our devotions to God, and zeal 
 in promoting the happiness of men. The robes of the offi- 
 cers, of yet richer materials and more brilliant colors — that 
 of the high priest being made after the pattern of the pon- 
 tifical robes of Aaron — together with the jewels and various 
 insignia of the order, combine, with the other fanciful deco- 
 rations, to make up a very attractive pageant. And the 
 actual adventures encountered during the work of the de- 
 gree — the kindling of curiosity, and the excitement of toil 
 and sudden vicissitudes, prevent the candidate from any 
 close scrutiny at the time, in regard to the bearing of the 
 circumstances represented, or the history, real or tradition- 
 al, upon which the degree is founded. Subsequent reflec- 
 tion, on the part of intelligent and well-informed men, satis- 
 fies them very shortly, that the facts upon w^hich the degree 
 is founded, are too absurd to render the legend probable, 
 could even its existence be traced back the half of a thou- 
 sand years. With such, however, where there is in fact 
 no delusion, and with whom the history and the traditions 
 are received exactly for what they are worth, and no more, 
 no harm can arise, as I can perceive, from these attempts to 
 impress lessons of the moral virtues by actions and symbols 
 addressed to the senses. But I fear that it is not so with 
 great numbers of unenlightened and simple-minded men. 
 Mingling these traditions with the little biblical learning 
 they may have picked up, they are exceedingly liable to 
 
 confound them altogether, and attach as much importance to 
 
 7 
 
50 LETTER V. 
 
 the legends of the lodge-room, as to the inspired records 
 themselves. 
 
 In the final charge of the candidate exalted to thfs de- 
 gree, he is told, that the rites and ceremonies developed 
 therein, have been handed down through a chosen kw, un- 
 changed by time ; and he is exhorted to regard them with 
 the same veneration, and transmit them to his successors 
 with the same scrupulous purity. He is again admonished 
 as to the faithful discharge of his duties to his brethren and 
 his creator — " the sacred source from whence all earthly 
 " comforts flow" — and is told " that having attained this de- 
 " gree, he has arri\ ed at the summit and perfection of Ma- 
 " sonry." After the cliarge, the companions assemble, and, 
 kneeling again around the altar, the chapter is closed with 
 much solemnity. 
 
 Of the history of this degree I cannot speak with desirable 
 certainty. — It is asserted, but with how much truth I have 
 not the means of deciding, that the first warrant was granted 
 by Charles Edward Stuart, son of the pretender, to hold a 
 chapter of an order called the Scotch Jacobite, at Arras, in 
 France, where he had received many favors at the hands of 
 the Masons. This chapter, it is also said, was subsequent- 
 ly removed to Paris, where it was called Le Chapitre 
 d! Arras, and is, in fact, the original of our present Royal 
 Arch chapter. The author of Ahiman Rezon gives the ibrm 
 of a royal arch prayer, which is, in truth, very pious and 
 devotional, and speaks of the degree as existing in England, 
 as far back as 1744, quoting a passage from Dr. Fifield 
 D'Assigney, as authority. The author himself says he be- 
 lieves " tiie degree of rbyal arch to be the root, heart and 
 " marrow of IVIasonry." 
 
 Many of the o})ponents of the Masonic institution have 
 believed, or affected to believe, that in its character and ob- 
 jects, it partakes largely of the nature of the Holy Vehme — 
 the secret tribunal of Westphalia, — which figures so advan- 
 
LETTER V. 51 
 
 tageously in the wild legends of German romance, and which 
 has been so effectively introduced in one of the later tales 
 of the unrivalled novelist of Scotland. Others, again, and 
 in great numbers, have not hesitated to stigmatise it as en- 
 tertaining principles in common with the dreaded Illuminism 
 which is believed to have been so potent an agent in preci- 
 pitating France into the terrible revolution of 1789 — '93 ; 
 the influence of which has not, even to this day, ceased to be 
 felt in Europe. But these suspicions are altogether idle and 
 groundless. The Abbe Barruel, it is true, cites an anony- 
 mous German discourse, entitled the " Ultimate Fate of the 
 " Freemasons," which was pronounced on the breaking up of 
 a Freemason's lodge, and in which the author gave divers 
 reasons why the lodges should suspend their labors, " since 
 " Illuminism had intruded itself into Masonry." But the soci- 
 ety of the Illuminati was founded by Weishaupt, at Ingol- 
 stadt, more than thirty years after the Masonic institution 
 had been transplanted to America ! It was in 1730 that 
 Freemasonry was brought to the then colonies of America, 
 and the society of the Illuminati was instituted in 1776. It 
 is true, as the authors of the Conversations Lexicon state, that 
 the constitution of the " enlightened,'' and the organization 
 of the society, "were taken partly from the Jesuits, and 
 " partly from the Masons." But even the Abbe Barruel him- 
 self, anxious as he was to bla.st the reputation of Masonry, 
 does not aver that Illuminism drew its origin from the craft, 
 " since the fact has been made to appear" — I quote his own 
 words — " beyond all doubt, that the founder of Illuminism 
 " only became a Mason in 1777, and was two years after- 
 '• wards [almost] wholly unacquainted with its mysteries." 
 The association of the Illuminati was founded upon the high- 
 est professions of morality and virtue. In its most flourish- 
 ing condition, it is said to have numbered more than two 
 thousand members, among whom were individuals of dis- 
 tinguished talents and high rank. And, however wicked 
 
52 LETTER V. 
 
 may have been the intentions of its founder, or to whatever 
 base uses it may have been prostituted in the course of its 
 brief existence, I think that Freemasonry cannot justly be 
 charged w^ith any of its abominations, even though some of 
 its forms may have been borrowed from its printed rituals, 
 or then unwritten, though not entirely secret, ceremonies. I 
 mean to be understood here as speaking more particularly 
 of ancient Freemasonry of the three first degrees only ; for 
 the evidence of the existence, at that period, of the subse- 
 quent degrees is questionable. I have already stated that 
 the establishment of the first lodge of Masons in this coun- 
 try, was in 1 730. The first lodge in France, upon the same 
 system — the English — was instituted five years earlier, and 
 the first in Germany, five years later, viz : in 1735. The 
 first royal arch chapter was established in America, by M. 
 M. Hayes, a Jew, at Boston, in 1764. Hayes had been 
 appointed inspector general of all Masonic institutions in 
 America, by Stephen Morin, another Jew, who received 
 his authority from the Grand Consistory of Paris, in 1761. 
 The grand commander of the consistory, at that time, was 
 Pliilip Louis Joseph, then Duke of Chartres, afterwards 
 Duke of Orleans, and subsequently Mons. Egalite, the fa- 
 ther of the present king of the French, and one of the most 
 profligate of princes. This prince was high in the confi- 
 dence of the French Masons, and was grand master at Ly- 
 ons. He became a member of the jacobin club in Paris ; 
 and, after sacrificing Louis XVI. and voting for his death, 
 in the convention, was himself, within a year, borne to the 
 scaflx)ld, amidst the scoffs and insults of the populace. The 
 first grand chapter in the United States, was instituted in 
 1797. It was two years subsequently to this period, that, 
 by the act of the British Parliament, mentioned in a former 
 letter, against the administration of unlawful oaths, all other 
 than the three ancient degrees, were virtually inhibited in 
 the three kingdoms. Of these higher degrees, as they are 
 
LETTER V. 53 
 
 given in France, Barruel says : — " After the three first de- 
 " grees, they cast off all restraint, — throw aside all emblems 
 " and allegorical figures, — and openly act upon the princi- 
 " pie of war against Christ and his kingdom, and against 
 " kings and their thrones." It is possible that this repre- 
 sentation of the alarmed French ecclesiastic, may have cau- 
 sed the provisions of the English statute referred to. But 
 no representation could be more unjust and scandalous, as 
 it respects the royal arch Masons of the United States, 
 from whatever source their degrees may have been taken. 
 According to the Abbe's disclosures of Scotch Freema- 
 sonry, there are several striking coincidences between the 
 order of the Knights of St. Andrew's, and the degree of the 
 royal arch, as described in the present letter. Buf his ac- 
 counts of the lower degrees of ancient Masonry, are so ut- 
 terly at war with the truth, as the degrees have been con- 
 ferred in the United States, — such outrageous and unblush- 
 ing misrepresentations, or rather fictions, — that very little 
 confidence is to be reposed in any of his assertions. Bo 
 these things, however, as they may, the scriptural and tra- 
 ditional history of the degree is equally as fabulous as that 
 of the master Mason. Even Dr. Dalcho pronounces the 
 claim that the book of the law was preserved by the 
 Masons, and discovered by them, as revealed in the legend, 
 to be unsupported by " any authority, sacred or profane." 
 Copies of the law, he says, very truly, had been multiplied. 
 Daniel the prophet had a copy during the captivity, as also 
 had Ezra ; and there is no doubt that many others had co- 
 pies likewise. 
 
 I am, sir, very truly, yours. 
 
54 LETTER VI. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 New- York, Dec. 10, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have already asserted my own belief, that there are but 
 three degrees of Masonry, having any possible claims to an- 
 tiquity — and even those, I shall by and bye show to be of 
 no very ancient date. — In the minds of all Masons, howev- 
 er, ancient Masonry closes with the degree of royal arch — 
 describeti in my last communication. All the subsequent 
 degrees are admitted to be distinct from Freemasonry pro- 
 per — of modern date — and of little comparative importance. 
 
 I have taken three degrees of knighthood, viz : the Red 
 Cross, Knight of Malta, and the Templar's degree. I have 
 likewise taken two intermediate degrees, between the royal 
 arch and the red cross, viz : the degree of Royal Master, and 
 that of the Select Master. Both of these are intended as 
 additions to the masonic traditions respecting the secret 
 vault, the loss of the master's word, by the death of the wi- 
 dow's son — the preservation of the book of the law, and the 
 discovery of the same, together with the long-lost master's 
 word, as represented in the seventh degree. I will not tres- 
 pass upon your time and patience by going into the details 
 of the ceremonies, and baseless legends, of these degrees. 
 The first is trifling ; — the second very pretty as a spectacle, 
 and amusing in its action. The lodge is arranged with 
 great order, and with a view to effect ; and the decorations 
 are tasteful and imposing. The design of this last mentioned 
 degree, professedly, is to exemplify the qualities of justice 
 and MERCY. That both are of very modern origin, there 
 can be no doubt. Had they been framed cotemporaneousr 
 
LETTER Vi. 55 
 
 [y with the system to which they have been attached as ad- 
 denda, the royal master's degree would have been interpo- 
 sed between the second and third ; and that of select mas- 
 ter between the fifth and sixth. 
 
 The ineffable degrees, so called, I never would consent 
 to take — having always entertained a horror of every thing 
 approaching the Illuminism of infidel France and Germany. 
 I had no knowledge of there being any connexion between 
 them, but having at an early age perused the startling works 
 of the Abbe Barruel and Robison, upon this subject ; and 
 having likewise, in once passing through an ineffable lodge- 
 room, had my " young blood" frozen by the sight of the em- 
 blems — among which were an automaton head, disfigured 
 and bloody, and a more substantial " dagger" than that 
 which the guilty Macbeth, in his distempered imagina- 
 tion, " saw before him," I had no desire to form a more in- 
 timate acquaintance with those degrees. Indeed, such was 
 my caution upon this subject, that I did not venture even 
 upon the first step of masonry, until I had been satisfied by 
 the solemn assurances of a gentleman of character and great 
 moral worth, — a gentleman who was then, and remains yet, 
 a royal arch Mason — that there was not the remotest con- 
 nexion between the institutions. The denunciations of 
 French Masonry and Illuminism, by the Abbe, had well nigh 
 taught me to beheve, that monsters more terrible than the fa- 
 bled hydra, or the serpents which destroyed Laocoon, arose 
 from their altars. In my imagination I had beheld order, 
 government, and religion, writhing and agonizing in the 
 accursed folds of these dragons, and expiring by their blast- 
 ing breath. The Abbe had almost convinced me that the 
 dreams of Condorcet, the blasphemies of Voltaire, and the 
 daggers of Robespierre, had all issued from the privacy of 
 the lodge-room, heaping the tragic horrors of that period 
 upon the devoted head of revolutionary France. But the 
 assurances of my friend, a gentleman of education, and of 
 
56 LETTER VI. 
 
 exemplary conduct in all the relations of society, convinced 
 me that in Freemasonry simply, I had nothing to apprehend 
 upon that head. With assurances from such a source, 1 en- 
 tered the lodge ; and you have my experience, in Masonry 
 proper, before you, in the preceding letters. A compendious 
 notice of those degrees of knighthood which I have taken, 
 will form the subject of the present communication. And 
 even this brief outline of these degrees, would have been 
 entirely omitted, as having only a slight bearing upon the 
 great object of these letters, did I not foresee that some re- 
 ferences, to at least one of them, will be necessary before my 
 present labors can be closed. 
 
 First in order of these three — and they are of the highest 
 rank of all the honorary degrees,— that of the Templars being 
 chiefest — are the Knights of the Red Cross. Why it is so 
 called I am not able to determine, since it has no relation 
 whatever to the religion of the cross, and is, in fact, neither 
 taken from the old testament dispensation, nor from the 
 new. Nor, indeed, is this chivalrous order mentioned in 
 any Masonic book of more than fifty years old. Still, 
 as a pastime, it is one of the most agreeable of the 
 whole series, and is, perhaps, less objectionable than any 
 other. It is connected, in its traditions, with the prepara- 
 tions of the Jews for returmng from the captivity, to rebuild 
 the temple ; and the whole history may be found, almost 
 in the terms set down in the formularies, in Josephus,* and 
 likewise in the Apocrypha.f After the elevation of Darius 
 Hystaspes to the Persian throne, Zerobabel, who had 
 been made governor of those Jews already returned 
 from the captivity, revisited the Persian court, where, hav- 
 ing been an old friend of Darius, he is preferred to a post of 
 honor in the palace. Having, on some occasion, made a 
 
 ♦ Ant: book xii. chap. iii. 
 t I. Esdras, chap. iii. and iv. 
 
LETTER VI. 57 
 
 great feast for his princes, his principal courtiers, and other 
 officers of state, the monarch, on retiring to bed, after a short 
 slumber, awoke, and was unable again to compose himself 
 to sleep. Falling into a conversation with the three guards of 
 his body, he proposed three questions for a disputation on 
 the following day — promising that the successful orator in 
 the contest should be clothed in purple and gold ; drink in 
 golden cups ; ride in all the splendor of oriental magnifi- 
 cence ; sit by the side of the king ; and be called his cousin. 
 The questions were : which is the strongest — wine ? kings ? 
 or women ? and whether Truth was not stronger than 
 either ? At the appointed time all the princes and wise men 
 being collected, the questions were discussed. The first 
 contended for the power of wine ; the second for that of 
 womeb ; and the third, who was Zerobabel, asserted the 
 superior power of women ; but, above all, he contended that 
 TRUTH was far stronger than either — stronger than all 
 things ; it being immortal, eternal, and co-existent with the 
 deity. The victory was awarded to Zerobabel by accla- 
 mation ; and when the king commanded that he should 
 make some request in addition to the promised reward, the 
 ■Hebrew reminded his majesty of a vow he had formerly 
 made, that in the event of his ever being called to the throne, 
 he w^ould rebuild Jerusalem and the temple ; and restore 
 the holy vessels taken thence by Nebuchadnezzar. The 
 request is of course granted with alacrity. There is con- 
 siderable discrepancy in the narrative, as given by Jose- 
 phus, and the apocryphal writer, particularly in reference 
 to the manner in which the scene is got up in the Persian- 
 court. Whiston, in his note upon the passage, prefers the 
 authority of Josephus, which is followed by the Masons, 
 while the arguments upon the questions are taken from Es- 
 dras. The enacting of the scenes, in a dramatic form, main- 
 ly constitutes the ceremonies of this degree ; and when the 
 
 8 
 
58 LETTER VI. 
 
 scenery is rich and appropriate, and the officers and mem- 
 bers understand their parts of the play, it is susceptible bl 
 affording a pleasant entertainment. The principal interest, 
 where there are men of intelligence present, capable of ex- 
 temporaneous speaking, arises from the discussion ; as the 
 speakers are not confined to the forms, so that the chain of 
 argument, and the points to be illustrated, are preserved. 
 The object aimed at in this degree, is the inculcation of the 
 power and importance of truth. 
 
 The order of the Knights of Malta, is usually conferred in 
 connexion with that of the Templar — the latter being consid- 
 ered of far the greatest importance. It professes to be 
 founded principally upon the shipwreck of Paul ; and the 
 chapter of the Acts relating the particulars of that event, or 
 the latter portion of it, is read during the ceremonies. 
 Whether it has in reality any connexion with, or resem- 
 blance to, the order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jeru- 
 salem, subsequently known in the history of chivalry, as 
 Knights of St. John, Knights of Rhodes, and lastly of Malta, 
 I have no means of determining. As that order, however, 
 was only extinguished as a military association, during 
 the war between England and the French Republic, when 
 the island of Malta, given them by the Emperor Charles V., 
 after their defeat and expulsion from Rhodes by Soliman 
 and his 300,000 Saracens, fell into the hands of the First 
 Consul, (then on his way to Egypt,) it is possible that re- 
 semblances in certain rites and ceremonies might exist. 
 But I must be allowed to doubt whether Raymond de Puy, 
 were he to descend and visit a modern encampment, would 
 recognise any of the ceremonies, which were approved and 
 confirmed to the order by Innocent II., in 11 30. Neverthe- 
 less, the masonic writers — for. the Masons are, the only her- 
 alds of these modern institutions of mimic chivalry — attempt 
 to identify the orders mentioned, as one and the same — so 
 
LETTER VI. 
 
 59 
 
 that, in imagination at least, the grandmaster of one of our 
 little encampments, ranks with d' Aubresson, holding at bay 
 the fierce legions of Mahomet 11. 
 
 If, then, I am compelled to doubt as to the antiquity of 
 the knights of Malta, in any thing like their jiresent organ- 
 ization, how much stronger must be those doubts in respect 
 o the Templars — an order that has been suppressed for so 
 many centuries ? The Templars were the oldest military 
 order in the world. The principal founders of it were 
 Hugo de Paganis, and Geoffrey, of St. Omer s, and the cre- 
 ation of the order was patronised by Baldwin IL, king of 
 Jerusalem, who gave them an apartment in his palace, near 
 the temple of the holy sepulchre. Hence the name — 
 Templars. According to their original constitution, they 
 were obliged to devote themselves to the service of God, 
 under pledges of living in perpetual chastity, poverty, and 
 obedience. In the year 1228 of the Christian era, they 
 had acquired stability, and the order was confirmed by the 
 Council of Troyes — their grand master residing in Paris, 
 after the Croises had lost the Holy Land. The order con- 
 tinued to increase, and by their deeds in arms, acquired 
 great wealth and power. But as they became rich and 
 prosperous, they were affirmed to have grown shockingly 
 arrogant and corrupt — to say nothing of luxuriousness. 
 Ultimately the order was suppressed, under the most terri- 
 ble circumstances of infamy and severity, by Philip the 
 Fair, of France, A. D. 1307. It is very probable that the 
 accumulation of wealth, and the acquisition of powe;% 
 brought the usual evil consequences in their train ; but un- 
 prejudiced historians have well doubted the truth of the 
 allegations brought against them by their foes. There had 
 been a quarrel between Philip and Pope Boniface VIIL, 
 during which the monarch found himself excommunicated, 
 and his kingdom laid under an interdict. In this contro- 
 versy, the Templars espoused the cause of the Pope,, while 
 
60 LETTER VI. 
 
 the Knights of Malta sided with Pliihp. After the death of 
 the Pope, Philip became reconciled with his successor, 
 Boniface IX., and also with his successor Clement V. Phil- 
 ip now meditated revenge upon the Templars, and addres- 
 sed ll^mself to the Holy See with success. The hapless 
 knights were hunted and seized throughout Europe, in the 
 year above mentioned, and those who would not confess 
 the horrible charges preferred against them, were put to 
 death by cruel tortures. The accusations against them 
 were — the holding of a correspondence with the Saracens, — 
 insulting the majesty of God, — trampling upon all laws hu- 
 man and divine, — spitting upon the picture of the Saviour, 
 and bowing in worship to a cat, and a w^ooden head gilded 
 and crowned, 6z^c., during the ceremonies of initiation. 
 Many of the knights most solemnly asserted their innocence, 
 but to no purpose, — for in 1312, the whole order was totally 
 suppressed by the Council of Vienna, and many innocent 
 men were put to 'death under the most exquisite tortures 
 that hum.an ingenuity and cruelty could devise. History, 
 and romance, have alike labored to exalt, and to defame, 
 this devoted race af men. The Abbe Barruel, and Profes- 
 sor Robison, have both given the fullest credence to the 
 most atrocious of the calumnies propagated against them. 
 Indeed, in the distempered imagination of the Abbe, no man 
 who enters a lodge-room, after the first three degrees, can 
 again come forth, save as a monster of impurity and crime. 
 My own opinion is, that the Templars were, comparatively 
 speaking, the innocent victims of the revenge and cupidity 
 of Philip. 
 
 The historical reader will, probably, at first blush, deem 
 the preceding sketch of the Templars' order, as uncalled for, 
 if not out of place, in a running narrative like the present. 
 But it seemed to me necessary to bring into view the char- 
 acter of the original institution, and the crimes alledged 
 against it, in order to contrast it with the order of specula- 
 
LETTER VI. 61 
 
 tive knighthood, professedly derived from it, of which I am 
 now particularly to speak. 
 
 There is not the remotest resemblance, in any one re- 
 spect, either historical or traditional ; in the design, object, 
 or intention ; or in the manner of conferring them, between 
 the Templar's degree, as described by the Abbe Barruel, 
 and that conferred in the United States. There, we are in- 
 formed by the credulous Abbe — to whom I refer thus fre- 
 quently, because it is by him that most of the prejudices 
 existing against the Masons before the fatal year 1826, and 
 by the dark deed of that year revived and strengthened, 
 have been created — there, in France, " they admit into this 
 " temple with equal indifference, the Christian or the Jew, 
 " the Turk or the Idolater, in fine, without distinction of 
 " sect or religion."* And again, farther on, the Abbe says : — 
 " Many circumstances relating to this degree, made us be- 
 " lieve, at first sight, that it was connected with Illuminism ; 
 " but on a farther examination we find it to be only a farther 
 " explanation of the Masonic allegory. Here, again, the 
 *' candidate is transformed into an assassin. Here, it is no 
 ".longer the founder of Masonry, Hiram, that is to be aven- 
 "ged, but it is Molay, the [last] Grand Master of the 
 " Knights Templars, and the person who is to fall by the 
 *' assassin's hand, is Philip le Bel, king of France, under 
 " whose reign the order of the Templars was destroyed." 
 The Abbe labors throughout to show, that the whole design 
 of the masonic system, is gradually to undermine the faith 
 of the candidate in Christianity, — substituting deism in its 
 place, — until this degree is reached, when all disguise is 
 cast aside ; and the assassin-candidate is taught, that his 
 revenge against Philip le Bel, is now to be directed against 
 all kings and priests. As applicable to this country it 
 would read — against all government and religion. 
 
 + Anti-monarchical conspiracy, chap, x, 
 
62 LETTER VI. 
 
 Now, so far from this horribly wicked design being true, 
 the Templar's degree in the United States, is founded en- 
 tirely upon the christian religion. Its rites and ceremonies, 
 deeply and powerfully aftecting, are, in their representa- 
 tions, intimately connected with the closing scenes of that 
 glorious plan of redemption, in which the Son of God died 
 ignominiousiy, as a means, through faith in his atoning 
 blood, of reconciling fallen man with his offended Crea- 
 tor. Neither the Jew, Turk, nor Infidel, can take this de- 
 gree. The candidate, before he can cross the threshhold 
 of the encampment for that purpose, is obliged, under cir- 
 cumstances of deep solemnity, to avouch his belief that Je- 
 sus Christ came into the world to save sinners ; and also, that 
 he will even wield a sword, should it become necessary, in 
 defence of the religion taught by him, and to the truth of 
 which he affixed the seal of his blood. He is also required, 
 wath equal solemnity, after due time allorded for sober and 
 secluded reflection, to avouch his innocence of any crime un- 
 repented of, which w^ould render him unworthy of the de- 
 gree to w^hich he aspires. Thus much, the substantial truth 
 of which I solemnly affirm, I trust will be sufficient to re- 
 pel the charge, first above quoted. As it respects the other 
 misrepresentation, that the candidate is made to personate 
 a revengeful assassin, which character, for the attainment of 
 certain objects, he is required to maintain ever after, it is 
 equally unfounded and untrue. On the contrary, with us, 
 the candidate is made to represent a pilgrim, in pilgrim's 
 weeds, performing a seven years pilgrimage with bread and 
 water, staff, scrip and sandals ; and while enacting this part, 
 he is instructed in some of the most benign lessons of hu- 
 manity and charity, to be found in holy WTit. He, in the 
 next stage, personates a pilgrim warrior, ready to wield his 
 sword in defence of the christian religion ; and subsequent- 
 ly, he represents a pilgrim penitent, visiting the holy sepul- 
 chre. In the course of the ceremonies, the account of the 
 
LETTER VI. 63 
 
 apostacy of Judas is read, as recorded in the first of the 
 Gospels,* by way of an admonition always to persevere in 
 the paths of honor, integrity and truth. Among the em- 
 blems, at one stage of the degree, is the Holy Bible, on 
 which lies a human skull, representing mortality resting 
 upon divinity ; and teaching that a foithful reliance on the 
 promises therein revealed, will afford consolation in the 
 gloomy hour of death, and insure inevitable happiness in 
 the world to come. A number of very solemn and affecting 
 lessons from the christian dispensation of the scriptures, in 
 addition to those just cited, are read in the course of this de- 
 gree. f After the reading of St. Matthew's account of the 
 ascension, a transparency is disclosed, brilliantly represent- 
 ing the triumph of the Saviour over death and the grave, 
 and his sublime flight to the regions of the skies. An ap- 
 propriate hymn is sung at this stage of the exercises ; and 
 v/hen well performed, this splendid and awful representa- 
 tion of the conclusion of the hallow^ed sacrifice of the Re- 
 deemer of the world, is deeply imposing and affecting. The 
 candidate is then addressed by the prelate, in language full 
 of pathos, tenderness and devotional feeling, which cannot, 
 and, in most cases, I venture to say, does not, fail of making 
 a solemn impression. 
 
 Such is an outline of the character and principles of the 
 Templar's degree, as conferred in the United States. Its 
 foundation, it will be perceived, is in the christian religion, 
 and its ceremonies of a nature that cannot be otherwise than 
 of the most solemn description. There is no room for 
 mirth or amusement in the Templar's degree ; and although 
 some of the representations may appear unmeaning in this 
 enlightened age, or at least fit only for the dark centuries 
 of monkish superstition ; and although objections may be 
 
 * Matl. xxiv. 14—25. and 3G— 49. 
 
 t Jarne?, i. 1 — 10, 2G, 27. A portion of llio 2fl chap, of Jamo?. Matt, 
 xxvii. 24— 33. Arts i. 15—26. IMatt. xxvi. 36—50. Matt, x.xviii. Acts 
 x.x.viii. 1 — 6. .Tohn's Cvospcl. xix. 19. John x?:. 24 — 28. 
 
64 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 raised by the scrupulous, against such uses of those awfully 
 solemn and touching portions of the book of Hte, yet I feel 
 myself abundantly warranted in saying, that, whatever else 
 may be said of it, still it is not an anti-christian order. I 
 have not gone into a minute description of all the rites and 
 ceremonies of the degree ; but have faithfully developed 
 all the facts and principles upon which it is founded, and all 
 the details which it is essential for the world to know. I 
 have never mingled in more solemn assemblies, than in an 
 encampment of Templars, engaged in conferring this de- 
 gree. I have seldom heard voices more tremulous than 
 those I have heard reciting the affecting lessons contained 
 in its ritual ; and I have seen and felt that every heart Was 
 swelling in unison. Still, I owe it in candor to add, that 1 
 have never been altogether reconciled to the conferring of 
 itj and have felt many misgivings, respecting it. Its repre- 
 sentations have appeared too solemn — too deeply affecting 
 — too intimately connected with the immortal interests and 
 destiny of man, to be handled by those of unclean lips — by 
 any one whose piety is not of the most fervent and unques- 
 tioned description — by any one, in short, whose office it is 
 not to minister at the altar in holy things. 
 
 When this degree was first introduced as an appendage 
 to Masonry, I know not. The first meeting' of Knights 
 Templars in America, so far as I am informed, was held at 
 Philadelphia, in May, 1797. Professor Robison, of Edin- 
 burgh, a Mason and a distinguished scholar, speaks of the 
 order as "fictitious," — in saying which he is unquestionably 
 correct. He states that " it was formed in the lodge of the 
 " Knights of Benevolencfe, at Lyons, in France, and was 
 " considered the model of all the rest of the mimic chiv- 
 
 "alry." 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, &c. 
 
LETTER VII. ^^ 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 New- York, Dec. 15, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 I propose in the present letter, to glance rapidly at the 
 nature of the masonic obligations ; not, sir, for the purpose 
 of vindicating the whole, or any part of them, — (for under 
 my present views, the multiplication, even of legal oaths, 
 should be avoided as far as it is practicable to do so ; while 
 all extra judicial oaths, are always highly improper,) — but 
 simply for the purpose of showing how those obligations 
 have been administered, received, and understood, by virtu- 
 ous and intelligent men. " Swear not at all," is the com- 
 mand of Him who spake as never man spake, " neither by 
 " the heavens, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it 
 " is his footstool, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, 
 " nay ; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil :" 
 and although in the imperfect condition of human society, 
 a literal compliance with this divine injunction has been 
 deemed impracticable, yet it is a golden rule, which ought 
 never to be transgressed when its violation can be avoided. 
 Nay, more : any society, secret or otherwise, that adminis- 
 ters oaths, must be dangerous to the well being of the com- 
 munity, if those oaths can be supposed by any one who takes 
 them, to be of higher obligation than the laws, or if they can 
 be so far tortured as to allow of such a construction. That 
 the obligations of the masonic order, in some portions of our 
 country, have been thus construed, and thus acted upon, 
 will appear so clearly before this discussion is closed, as to 
 render denial impossible. And this single fact, were it un- 
 supported by any other circumstances, would, in my mind, 
 
 9 
 
66 LETTER VII. 
 
 be sufficient to render it obligatory upon the Masons to re- 
 linquish the order. 
 
 In making the preceding admission, however, I must be 
 allowed, in behalf of all those virtuous and intelligent citi- 
 zens with whom I have formerly associated as a Mason, ut- 
 terly to disclaim any and all constructions of those obliga- 
 tions, at variance with the laws of God or man, or which 
 conflict with a proper discharge of all the moral, social, and 
 religious duties of life. It is to the provisions of the obli- 
 gations of the tiiird and seventh degrees, I believe, that 
 the greatest exceptions have been taken, and which have 
 provoked the severest condemnation. What the precise 
 terms of those obligations are, after the numerous publica- 
 tions that have been made since the developements of Mor- 
 gan, it would be unnecessary for me to repeat. Indeed, it 
 will be found that although there is a general concurrence 
 in the provisions, very wide diversities of language have 
 existed ; and from some of the disclosures that have fallen 
 under my observation, I am not without apprehension that 
 serious innovations upon the established forms, have been 
 designedly made. For the purpose of this examination, I 
 shall adopt the obligations as they appear in Barnard's Light 
 on Masonry^ — the more especially since the general accu- 
 racy of those obligations, as they have been given in the 
 ■western lodges of this state, has been judicially established 
 by the testimony of Masons who do not believe in the bind- 
 ing force of such obligations when they come in conflict 
 with tlie laws.* To sustain the other point, also — that of 
 a wide disagreement in the phraseology of these obligations, 
 as given in diflerent places — I beg leave to refer you to the 
 enclosed copies of the obligations of the seven degrees, as 
 they were given twenty-five years since, in the lodge and 
 chapter of an eastern city. They were copied by a friend 
 
 # 
 
 * See Appendix A. 
 
LETTER VII; 67 
 
 of mine, more than twenty years ago, from the manuscript 
 of a gentleman, who had been master of the lodge, and high 
 priest of the chapter, and who now occupies, with distin- 
 guished ability, a high judicial station in his native state. I 
 have this copy in my possession. The forms are the same 
 that were used for a long series of years in the city to which 
 I refer ; and when Royal Arch Masonry was introduced 
 into Rochester, in this state, these forms, from the identical 
 papers before me, were then and there introduced and 
 adopted.* The obligation of the seventh, or Royal Arch 
 degree, as contained in this manuscript, you will perceive 
 is almost as widely different from that contained in Barnard's 
 book, as the poles are asunder. 
 
 The principal objection to the Master Mason's obligation 
 is raised with reference to that portion which is supposed to 
 read as follows : — " Furthermore do I promise and swear, 
 " that a Master Mason's secrets, given to me in charge as 
 " such, shall remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as 
 " in his own, when communicated to me, murder and trea- 
 « son excepted ; and they left to my own election." The 
 last seven words of this section, are, in my apprehension, an 
 innovation. I have not been accustomed to hear the obli- 
 gation so conferred ; but even if I am in error upon this 
 point, the explanations under which this, and all the other 
 obligations are given, and the charges which follow, conclu- 
 sively show, that among men of principle and sense, they 
 have never been received as binding one Mason, under any 
 possible circumstances, to conceal the villainy of another. 
 The simple fact as to the taking of these obligations, is this. 
 When the candidate is brought to the altar, he is premon- 
 ished that he is about to take upon himself a solemn obliga- 
 tion. That obligation, he is told, will be imposed upon him 
 in the same manner in which it has come down to them, 
 
 * See Appendix B. 
 
68 LETTER VII. 
 
 and in the same terms in which it has been taken by others. 
 In taking it he is Hkewise told, that whatever may be the 
 peculiar forms of expression or phraseology in which the 
 obligation is given, he is expressly to understand, that no- 
 thing therein contained is to interfere with his political or 
 religious principles ; with his duty to God ; or the laws of 
 his country. He is also assured, that the obligation will be 
 repeated slowly, and if, at any time, at any stage of it, he 
 objects to any part of the oath, he is at liberty to state his 
 objection ; and should the explanations prove unsatisfacto- 
 ry, he is assured that he shall be as safely conducted out of 
 the lodge, as he was brought into it. I give these explana- 
 tions as I received them, and as I have been in the habit of 
 seeing them conferred upon others. If the practice has 
 been different elsewhere, in the west, the class of Masons, 
 in whose behalf I am making them, are not to blame. I 
 know that a very different notion prevails, as to the manner 
 of introducing a candidate ; it having been widely and in- 
 dustriously affirmed, that the moment the candidate crosses 
 the threshold of a lodge-room, he is deprived of all freedom 
 of action, and is compelled, by terror and threats, if not by 
 positive force, to proceed. And I have been astonished, 
 since I began this investigation, to find that Elder Barnard 
 has himself affirmed this misrepresentation. His words are : 
 " The reader will here learn one reason why those who en- 
 " ter a lodge, never come out, until they have taken the 
 " degree. The candidate is made to promise upon his hon- 
 " or, that he will * conform to all the ancient established 
 " usages and customs of the fraternity ;' hence, let him be 
 " ever so much opposed to the ceremonies of initiation, or 
 " the oath of the degree, he cannot go back, for he feels 
 " bound by his promise. Should he, however, feel constrain- 
 " ed to violate his word, the persuasions, and, if necessary, 
 " the threats of the master and brethren, counsel him to go 
 
LETTER VII. 69 
 
 "forward !"* There is not, sir, so far as I have any know- 
 ledge of the usages of Masonry, a single syllable of truth in 
 the passage I have here quoted. Nor do any of my mason- 
 ic acquaintances hesitate to declare, their utter and entire 
 ignorance of even a single instance wherein any such con- 
 straint was ever practised or even thought of. On the con- 
 trary, through the whole system, from the lowest to the 
 highest degree, every step is the result of the most entire 
 freedom of thought and action. And if a contrary prac- 
 tice has prevailed, it could only have been, as I have had 
 occasion to remark before, amongst men who were capable 
 of compassing a deliberate and atrocious murder. 
 
 But again : while the obligation is administered, the can- 
 didate supports the holy bible between his hands ; and when 
 it is completed, he is obliged solemnly to pledge himself that 
 he receives that book as " the rule and guide of his faith and 
 " practice." The square and compasses are placed on the 
 top of it, as it lies open upon the altar. Of these he is told, 
 that the square is a symbolical admonition, that he is to 
 square his actions by that book, while the compasses teach 
 him to circumscribe his views and desires within proper 
 limits, and keep his passions within due bounds. I care 
 nothing for the assertion lately made, that the bible is only 
 placed there to gull and deceive the christian, while the 
 square and compasses are for the infidel to swear by. The 
 fact is not so. Is it then to be believed, that men of acknow- 
 ledged talents and worth in public stations, and of virtuous 
 and frequently religious habits in the walks of private life — 
 with the holy bible in their hands, which they are solemnly 
 pledged to receive, as the rule and guide of their faith and 
 practice — and under the grave and positive charge from the 
 officer administering the obligation, that it is to be taken in 
 strict subordination to the civil laws, — can understand that 
 
 * Barnard's IJcrht, p. 17, 
 
70 LETTER VII. 
 
 obligation, whatever may be the pecuHarities of its phrase- 
 ology, as requiring them to countenance vice and criminali- 
 ty even by silence ? Can it for a moment be supposed, that 
 the hundreds of eminent men, whose patriotism is unques- 
 tioned, and the exercise of whose talents has helped to make 
 up the " measure" of the nation's glory ; — can it be believed, 
 that the hundreds of eloquent divines, whose talents and vir- 
 tues have shed a lustre upon the church history of our coun- 
 try, and who, by their walk and conversation, have, in their 
 own lives, illustrated the beauty of holiness ; — is it to be credi- 
 ted, that the tens of thousands of those persons ranking among 
 the most intelligent and virtuous citizens of the most moral 
 and enlightened people on earth ; — is it, I ask, possible, that 
 any portion of this community, can, on calm reflection, be- 
 lieve, that such men have oaths upon their consciences, 
 binding them to eternal silence in regard to the guilt of any 
 man, because he happens to be a Freemason, no matter 
 wiiat be the grade of offence, whether it be the picking of a 
 pocket, or the shedding of blood ? It does really seem to 
 me impossible, that such an opinion could, at any moment, 
 have prevailed, to any considerable extent, amongst reflect- 
 ing and intelligent citizens. Yet, still, I am aware that an 
 awful example of fact can be cited against me. And I am 
 also aware, that the authors of the example to which I refer, 
 have not been treated by the whole masonic fraternity 
 with that degree of indignation and abhorrence which they 
 justly merited. On the contrary, it is but too true, that, in 
 some instances, ignorance and fanaticism have conspired to 
 extend aid and comfort to those, who, with good cause, are 
 believed to be of the guilty number. Still, however, I must 
 protest against the construction attempted to be put upon 
 the obligations, as being directly at variance with the inter- 
 pretation always given them by those with whom I have 
 formerly mingled in intimate fellowship among masons. 
 
LETTER VII. 71 
 
 Allow me, sir, to pursue this subject of masonic secrets a 
 little farther, since I shall probably not have a better op- 
 portunity for disclosing my entire views upon this much- 
 discussed feature of the masonic institution. From the pe- 
 riod at which I reached the summit of what is called ancient 
 Masonry, I have held but one opinion in relation to masonic 
 secrets ; and in that opinion I have always found my intel- 
 ligent brethren ready to concur. It was this : That the es- 
 sential secrets of Mas amy, consisted in nothing more than 
 the signs, grips, pass-words and tokens, essential to the jwe- 
 servation of the society from the inroads of impostors ; to- 
 gether with certain symbolical emblems, the technical terms 
 appertaining to which served as a sort of universal language, 
 by which the members of the fraternity could distinguish 
 each other, in all places and countries where lodges were 
 instituted, and conducted like those of the United States. 
 Such, and such only, have I been accustomed to consider as 
 the essential secrets of the order — secrets of not the least 
 consequence to the world, but which were essential for the 
 preservation of the society. All the principles, history, and 
 traditions of the order, I have always made the subjects of 
 free conversation, vdienever it was desired. This opinion 
 is moreover sustained by the text-books of the order. 
 The Monitor says : — " Did the particular secrets, or pe- 
 "culiar forms prevalent among Masons, constitute the- 
 ^^ essence of the art, it might be alledged that our amuse- 
 "ments were trifling, and our ceremonies superficial. 
 " But this is not the case." The Rev. Salem Town, long 
 the Grand Chaplain of the Royal Arch Chapter of this state, 
 whose book on speculative Masonry has been sanctioned by 
 the highest masonic officers in the country, expressly de- 
 clares, that " our leading tenets are no secrets." And again, 
 " by a full and fair exposition of our great leading princi- 
 " pies, we betray no secrets^ So have I always held and 
 acted ; and I have never been able to repress a smile of 
 
72 LETTER Vll. 
 
 contempt, whenever I have occasionally seen the foohsh 
 brethren putting on airs of reserve and mystery, and shak- 
 ing their heads with owlish gravity and wisdom, if the se- 
 crets of Freemasonry should by chance become the theme 
 of inquiry and conversation. In regard to the grips and 
 pass- words before mentioned, such have been common with 
 many other societies. It is so with the celebrated Tamma- 
 ny Society ; it has been so until very recently, with the 
 Phi Beta Kappa, a purely literary society ; and it was so 
 with the old and much-calumniated Washing^ton Benevolent 
 Society. Nor in either case, so far as I am informed, has 
 danger been apprehended merely from the secret. 
 
 So far as it respects the secrets of the lodge-room, in gen- 
 eral, I have regarded them as conventional only — to be held 
 no more sacred than the conversation at the table of a pri- 
 vate dinner party, which every gentleman is bound in honor 
 not publicly to repeat. It is usual when a candidate is pro- 
 posed for membership of a lodge, that his habits and char- 
 acter be canvassed, and it would be disgraceful to betray 
 the confidence of such discussions. In like manner, it would 
 be a violation of faith, to state, that such or such a man had 
 applied for membership, and been black-balled. In cases of 
 applications for charity, moreover, it would be alike dishon- 
 orable and unkind, to proclaim the names of the petitioners 
 upon the house-tops. These things, therefore, are secrets — 
 but only conventional secrets — such as most other societies, 
 and even boards of bank directors, must necessarily have, 
 as well as churches, and presbyteries, and synods. 
 
 Secrecy and silence were qualities zealously cultivated, and 
 strictly enjoined, by many philosophers of antiquity; when 
 observed with discretion, and not illegally, they are eminent- 
 ly conducive to the peace and happiness of human society 
 — the grand conservators of well regulated social inter- 
 course ; — and numerous are the occurrences within the ob- 
 servation of us all, tending to show that the art of presort - 
 
LETTER VII. 73 
 
 ing them inviolate, is often a desirable and laudable attain- 
 ment. " A tale-bearer," says Solomon, " revealeth secrets ; 
 " but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth them. Disco- 
 " ver not a secret to another, lest he that heareth it put thee 
 " to shame, and thine infamy turn not away. He that keep- 
 " eth his tongue, keepeth his own soul." To the same pur- 
 pose we read in the book of Ecclesiasticus : " Whoever dis- 
 "covereth secrets, shall nevei*' find a friend to his mind. 
 " Love thy friend, and be faithful unto him ; but if thou be- 
 "wrayeth his secrets follow no more after him: for as a 
 " man hath destroyed his enemy, so hast thou lost the love 
 " of thy neighbor. As for a wound, it may be bound up ; 
 " and after reviling, there may be reconcilement : but he 
 " that bewrayeth secrets, is without hope." — These are the 
 Avords of wisdom, and my regard for the secrets of the 
 lodge-room had ever " this extent — no m.ore." 
 
 The foregoing expositions, like every other contained in 
 these letters, have been made with all possible frankness 
 and sincerity ; and I trust, sir, that after reading them, you 
 will do me the justice to believe, that should a brother Ma- 
 son tell me, as a secret, that he had robbed a store, I should 
 very speedily make the matter public in the police office ; 
 or, should he say that he had helped to murder William 
 Morgan, I should as certainly help the civil authorities to 
 put him in the way of being hanged. In one word, sir, no 
 Mason is bound by any obligation, to keep the secrets of an 
 unworthy brother ; and whenever a Mason, knowingly and 
 wilfully and criminally, violates those restraining acts which 
 are necessary to secure the life, liberty and happiness of 
 the citizen, he becomes unworthy of confidence, and the 
 obligation of secrecy is cancelled by the higher obligation 
 which rests upon every good man, to maintain the supre- 
 macy OF THE LAWS. Such is now, and ever has been, my 
 construction of this feature of the masonic obligations ; and, 
 
 such, also, is the construction of those Masons with whom I 
 
 10 
 
74 LETTER VII.- 
 
 have associated or conferred. In it you "will perceive, sir, 
 that my views are more rigid than those laid down in the 
 books. " A promise cannot be deemed unlawful," says Arch- 
 deacon Paley, " where it produces, when performed, no ef- 
 " feet, beyond what would have taken place, had the pro- 
 " mise never been made." " Upon this principle, promises 
 " of secrecy ought not to be violated, although the public 
 " would derive advantage from the discovery. Such pro- 
 " mises contain no unlawfulness in them, to destroy their ob- 
 " ligation ; for, as the information would not have been 
 " imparted upon any other condition, the public lose nothing 
 " by the promise, which they would have gained without it."* 
 It remains, in the present letter, that I should ofier some 
 explanations upon that portion of the obligation supposed to 
 be taken in the Royal Arch degree, which, unexplained, has 
 been considered so highly exceptionable. That section, as 
 it has been proved, judicially, at the west, reads as follows : 
 — " Furthermore do I promise and swear, that I will aid 
 " and assist a companion Royal Arch Mason when engaged 
 " in any difficulty ; and espouse his cause so far as to extri- 
 " cate him from the same, if in my power, whether he be 
 " right or wrong. Also, that I will promote a companion 
 " Royal Arch Mason's political preferment, in preference to 
 ** another of equal qualifications. Furthermore do I pro- 
 " mise and swear, that a companion Royal Arch Mason's 
 " secrets, given me in charge as such, and I knowing them 
 " to be such, shall remain as secure and, inviolable in my 
 " breast as in his own, murder and treason not excepted.^^ 
 First and foremost I have to remark, upon the passage here 
 quoted, and which has so justly called forth a large measure 
 of the public indignation, that the pledge in favor of the po- 
 litical preferment of a companion, and the words " %o^," in 
 tiie italicised passage, are infamous interpolations. The 
 obligation has never been so given, within the range of my 
 
 * Moral Phi. chap. v. — of Promises. 
 
LETTER VII. 75 
 
 masonic experience, and is not so sanctioned or allowed by 
 the Grand Chapter, having jurisdiction in the premises. 
 Nor have I, as yet, found a Royal Arch Mason v^'^ho recol- 
 lects ever to have heard the obligation so given. The po- 
 litical interpolation, either in this, or the third degree, has 
 been traced to Vermont, whence it was brought into this 
 state by a gentleman who has occupied an exalted office in 
 this state, and who now holds a seat in congress. As to 
 the other, and more heinous alteration, I know not whence 
 it came ; but there is no doubt of its having been so given 
 of late in the western region of New- York. But the fact 
 was not known among the brethren in this quarter, until 
 long after the Morgan outrage began to be looked upon as 
 a reahty. Still, the circumstance that this one obligation 
 has been so essentially altered — how much you can readily 
 perceive, on comparing the form of which I am speaking, 
 with the old manuscript form, to which I have already re- 
 ferred you — is a very strong argument against the longer 
 existence of the institution. Nor am I certain that other 
 alterations may not have been made at the west, which are 
 yet undisclosed ; for I have been informed since the com- 
 mencement of the present series of letters, that some time 
 prior to the Morgan outrage, a western Mason came to 
 this city, and lingered about the lodge-rooms several weeks, 
 with sundry additions to the whole series of obligations, 
 which he stated it to be the wish of the western brethren 
 to have introduced into the system. The professed object 
 was, to bind the Masons together with a stronger tie, and 
 also to render a disclosure of the secrets a more difficult — if 
 iiot a more dangerous, matter. His propositions were 
 promptly rejected, and he returned somewhat dissatisfied. 
 Whether the measure with which he came charged hither, 
 was one of precaution, or of preparation, in anticipation of 
 what subsequently took place, I have no means of detei;'* 
 mining. My own conclusion is that it was. 
 
76 LETTER VII. 
 
 The clause respecting the inviolability of secrets, repeated 
 in the passage above quoted, and also in the two preceding 
 obligations, having already been discussed, it only remains 
 that I note the explanation respecting the obi igation to help 
 a brother out of difficulty, whether right or wrong. The 
 allegation respecting this feature of the obligation, is, that Ma- 
 sons are bound by it to rescac one another from the officers 
 and ministers of the law ; that if a Mason is involved even 
 in legal difficulties, his brethren are bound by their solemn 
 oaths, to help him out — " right or wrong. ^^ If he is in the 
 custody of an officer, he is to be rescued — if arraigned at the 
 bar, he is to be acquitted. It is not so — nor is there even 
 the semblance of truth in the charge. The interpretation 
 invariably given to the candidate upon this point, is simply 
 this : — That if you find a companion Royal Arch Mason in 
 difficulty, or in such danger as to peril his life, you are to 
 rush to his assistance, without stopping to inquire as to who 
 was first in the wrong, lest while you are making the inqui- 
 ry, the man might be killed. But in all cases where you 
 attempt to rescue a brother, the effort is to be directed solely 
 to his personal safety for the time being — as in case of his 
 having been set upon by a mob ; and it is expressly charged, 
 that whenever officers are in pursuit, or the companion 
 who may have commanded assistance by the sign of dis- 
 tress, is charged with any offence, in all cases, he is to be 
 hanjied over in safety to the custody of the civil authorities. 
 Such, I repeat, is the charge invariably given in every pro- 
 perly regulated chapter, upon this feature of the obligation ; 
 and it would require a degree of stupidity not often found, 
 so far to misunderstand such an explanation, as to warrant 
 the construction that has been given to the passage. 
 
 But, sir, I do not desire to leave the fact resting upon my 
 own individual assertion, that a Mason is bound, in all ca- 
 ses, to yield a full, unqualified, and implicit obedience to the 
 laws. This truth is explicitly asserted and maintained in 
 
LETTER VII. 77 
 
 the established formularies. I have already mentioned that, 
 on taking the first obligation, the candidate is so instructed 
 by the master ; and that instruction, or explanation, is en- 
 joined upon him with each successive degree as he advan- 
 ces, until it would seem impossible that he should forget it. 
 In the charge, moreover, on the first degree, the candidate 
 is told : — " In the state, you are to he a quiet and peaceful 
 
 " subject, TRUE TO YOUR GOVERNMENT, and JUST TO YOUR 
 " COUNTRY ; YOU ARE NOT TO COUNTENANCE DISLOYALTY OR 
 
 " REBELLION, but patient!?/ submit to legal authority, 
 *^ and confoj^m with chee>^fubiess to the government op 
 " the country in which you live. In your outw ard de- 
 " meanor be particularly careful to avoid censure or re- 
 " proach. Let not interest, favor, or prejudice, bias your 
 *' integrity, or influence you to be guilty of a dishonorable 
 ^* action." But even this is not all. When the master-elect 
 of a lodge, is installed into his ofiice, he receives a solemn 
 charge from the Grand Master, of^which the folloAving are 
 the first four items : — " 1st. You agree to be a good man 
 *' and true, and strictly to obey the moral law. 2d. 
 " You agree to be a peaceable subject, and cheerfully to 
 
 " CONFOR3I TO THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY l?^ W HICH YOU 
 
 *' RESIDE. 3d. You promise not to he concerned in plots and 
 " conspiracies against government, but patiently submit 
 
 « TO THE DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME LEGISLATURE. 4th. 
 
 *' You agree to pay a proper respect to the civil magistrate, 
 " to work diligently, live creditably, and act honorably by 
 " all men." 
 
 Upon these facts and e^^planations, I confidently rest the 
 case, v/ith respect to the points discussed in the present let- 
 ter. And I do appeal, with some confidence, to you, sir, 
 and all others v/ho may chance to look upon these sheets, 
 to admit, v/hether I have not successfully repelled the pre- 
 vailing idea, that because a man has taken the masonic ob- 
 ligations, he is necessarily bound by those fearful oaths, in 
 
78 LETTER VII. 
 
 certain emergencies, to resist the laws, to conceal the most 
 guilty secrets, to shield evil-doers from justice, — nay, more, 
 to participate in the foulest crimes himself ! I am not dis- 
 posed to deny — and if I should do so, the truth would not 
 sustain me — that the Masons have taken a series of oaths — 
 more or less, according to the progress they have made — 
 of appalling and startling import to those who hear or read 
 them unexplained ; but I do solemnly affirm, that, with the 
 explanations and reservations with which they have been 
 taken by intelligent and virtuous men, so far as my observa- 
 tion has extended, they contain nothing which needs lie op- 
 pressively on the conscience of any man. Whatever may 
 be the cumbrous phraseology with which they have descend- 
 ed to us, they are taken as being in strict subordination to the 
 government and the laws, both of God and man. The Holy 
 Bible is solemnly received as the rule and guide of the 
 Mason's faith and practice — and he pledges himself to 
 obey the moral law, v/hich is summarily comprehended in 
 the ten commandments. Are we, then, to be told, that obli- 
 gations taken subordinately to these pledges, require us to 
 bear false-witness, and to commit murder ? The candidate 
 is solemnly charged to discountenance disloyalty and re- 
 bellion — not to be concerned in plots and conspiracies — 
 but cheerfully to conform to the laws, and the govern- 
 ment, wherever he may reside, and in all cases to submit 
 to the civil authorities ;^ — and are we yet to be told that we 
 arc to KEEP the secrets of murderers and traitors, and 
 rescue prisoners from those very civil authorities ? 
 And yet the public has been over and over again assured, 
 by certain fanatical prints — for fanaticism, and prejudice, 
 and obstinacy, in this matter, unfortunately exist on both 
 sides — that the culprits who have undergone the penalty of 
 the law, or who are yet in durance vile, for their concern 
 in the Morgan business, are merely undergoing the penalty 
 of the civil, for their obedience to the masonic law ! I 
 
LETTER VII. 79 
 
 trust I need waste no more words in repelling the odious 
 imputation. 
 
 Upon the subject of the masonic obligations generally, 
 the same candor which shall govern, throughout, these dis- 
 sertations, obliges me to confess, that I do not consider them 
 by any means free from objections, even were they never to 
 be imposed upon any person incapable of correctly under- 
 standing them. Aside from the sound objections which ex- 
 ist against all extra-judicial oaths, they are unnecessarily 
 prolix, and indefensibly puerile. Indeed, long before the 
 Morgan affair, I have more than once held conversations 
 with some of the high masonic officers, in regard to the 
 propriety and expediency of a thorough revision of those 
 obligations, with a view of expurgating them of their un- 
 seemly verbiage, and unmeaning penalties.* And but for 
 the consideration that these proposed innovations would so 
 far have removed the landmarks of the order as to destroy 
 the universality of the language of the craft, and thereby 
 render the institution useless to those brethren travelling 
 abroad, or to those, who, by sickness, or other misfortunes, 
 might find it necessary to appeal, when from home, to dis- 
 tant lodges, for assistance, 1 believe the proposition would 
 have been favorably entertained. 
 
 The penalties mentioned in the several obligations, I have 
 pronounced " unmeaning." So they must always have 
 been ; for it is not pretended that the duty of inflicting them 
 is any where prescribed to any officer or member of the 
 fraternity ; and certainly the candidate could never inffict 
 the whole of any one penalty upon himself. Any one, moreo- 
 ver, who should attempt the execution of the sentence, would 
 alike violate the laws of God and man, to observe which he 
 is under a yet stronger pledge than the masonic obligation. 
 
 * In the year 1730, when Pritchard made the first disclosure of the se- 
 crets of Masonry, there were but three degrees, and but one obHgation for 
 the whole three, which was short, and comparatively inoffensive. Vide Ap- 
 pendix O, 
 
80 LETTER VIU 
 
 The truth is, that a simple expulsion from a lodge, or chap- 
 ter, with a public advertisement of the fact, is the only pen- 
 alty, for any oflence, which the Masons, previously to the 
 Morgan outrage, have ever, to my knowledge, considered 
 themselves authorized to inflict. As an illustration of 
 this assertion, 1 may perhaps be excused for stating a case 
 in point. No longer ago than the year 1824, — only two 
 years before the Morgan outrage — I myself introduced a 
 resolution into the Grand Chapter, requiring the High 
 Priest of a subordinate chapter to show cause why he should 
 not be expelled. The accusation w^as the same as that for 
 which Morgan died, viz : the writing and revealing of ma- 
 sonic secrets. The charge was investigated, and he was 
 expelled. He is yet a living witness that his throat was not 
 cut across, nor liis tongue torn out by the roots, nor his body 
 buried in the rough sands of the sea. I am warranted, 
 therefore, in predicating of the penalty, that it is as unmean- 
 ing as it certainly is ridiculous. 
 
 But these oaths are all wrong. Whatever miglit have 
 been the fact at the time of their origin, they are now in 
 exceedingly bad taste. The time may possibly have been, 
 when some strong bond of union was necessary for the safe 
 enjoyment of free political and social intercourse. But 
 such is not the case now — especially in these United States. 
 In like manner, the time may have been, in the ruder ages 
 of man, when oaths were necessary for compelling the ob- 
 servance of the moral duties. But it is not now the fact. 
 Perhaps, also, oaths may once have been necessary to en- 
 force the exercise of the charities of life— ^although charities 
 thus extorted, would indeed be a frigid bounty. But chari- 
 ty, in the present day, requires no such enforcement. There 
 is, however, a still higher reason why these oaths should be 
 discarded and abjured : it is the divine injunction already 
 quoted— SWEAR NOT AT ALL. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant. 
 
XiETTER VIII. 81 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 New- York, Dec. 20, 1831. 
 Sir, 
 
 In no one particular, probably, have the votaries of spe- 
 culative Masonry been more actively assailed, or with great- 
 er justice, in the estimation of the world, than in regard to 
 the high antiquity which they claim for the order. The 
 ridicule which the institution has been obliged to encounter 
 in this respect, more frequently just than unjust, has arisen 
 from various causes. Of these, the love of antiquity may 
 be cited as first. Notwithstanding the frequent boasts of 
 republicanism, that its citizens are free from the pride of an- 
 cestry, and that no man can "borrow merit from the dead — 
 " himself an undeserver" — and consequently that every man 
 must be the architect of his own character and fortunes ; 
 still, the mind delights in looking back through the dim and 
 mellow light of antiquity, for examples of w^isdom and know- 
 ledge, and valor. And I honestly believe that the sturdiest 
 republican amongst us, would not think more meanly of 
 himself, should he be told of the existence of proofs in the 
 herald's office, that he was lineally descended from the Tal^ 
 bots, or the Howards ; from the Black Prince, or John of 
 Gaunt. So with the Masons ; their institution becomes 
 more hallowed in their eyes, in proportion to the fancied 
 remoteness of its origin. Another, and perhaps a still more 
 efficient cause of the idle and preposterous claims to anti- 
 quity, put forth by the Masons, is found in the ignorance 
 and credulity of a large portion of the brotherhood, who 
 have mistaken the assertions of masonic lecturers, touching 
 the. immemorial existence of what they choose to call the 
 
 11 
 
82 LETTER VIII. 
 
 principles of Mas6nry, for the institution of Masonry itself 
 as at present organized into lodges and chapters ! I cannot 
 but confess, moreover, that the manner in which the writers 
 of the masonic rituals have spoken of their claims to very 
 remote antiquity, has been peculiarly well calculated to fos- 
 ter and strengthen the delusion, among uneducated men, 
 possessing neither the time, nor the means, for adequate 
 investigation. 
 
 , Of all books to try the patience, and excite the disgust, 
 of a sensible and intelligent reader, I would prescribe the 
 earlier masonic historians. The wretched absurdities, and 
 the clumsy misrepresentations, 'with which they abound,^ 
 would scarcely be credited by a person who has never ex- 
 amined them, were the half to be told. The first of these 
 writers, was James Anderson, D. D., whose book of Mason- 
 ic Constitutions, prefaced by a history of Masonry, " col- 
 " lected and digested by order of the Grand Lodge in Lon- 
 " don, from the old records, faithful traditions, and lodge 
 " books," was published in 1723. It was revised, continued, 
 and enlarged, by John Entick, M. A., and published under 
 the sanction of a committee of the Grand Lodge, in 1756. 
 I have a copy of that edition now before me ; and, by your 
 permission, will illustrate the justness of the character be- 
 stowed above upon these histories. It is proper here to 
 premise, that, in its ancient history, Masonry is used in a 
 sense equivalent to the liberal sciences, but particularly 
 OEOMETHY — and vice versa. Upon this assumption, the 
 early masonic history dates the commencement of the mason- 
 ic institution, with the beginning of time, and begins its 
 liistory with the work of creation. With these explanations, 
 I proceed to cite a few passages fiom Anderson and En- 
 tick :— 
 
 " All things necessary for man's felicity were perfected 
 •' by the Architect and Grand Master of the Universes 
 *' according to geometry. &:c." 
 
LETTER VIII. 83 
 
 " How Adam exercised himself in that noble science, in 
 ^ his paradisaical state, does not certainly appear," but, "we 
 " cannot in any wise suppose him to have been ignorant of 
 " the liberal sciences, much less of geometry." 
 
 " Adam instructed his descendants in geometry, and the 
 " application of it to whatsoever crafts were convenient for 
 " those early times." 
 
 " Cain, with his family and adherents, being expelled 
 " from Adam's altars, and pre-instructed in the principles 
 " of geometry and architecture, forthwith built a strong 
 " city, &c. ; and called it Dedicate, or Consecrate, after the 
 " name of his eldest son Enoch ; whose race, following his 
 " example, improved themselves, not only in geometry and 
 ^^ Masonry, but made discoveries of several other useful 
 ^* arts," &c.* 
 
 " The descendants of Seth came nothing behind those of 
 *' Cain, in the cultivation of geometry and Masonry : this 
 *' patriarch greatly profited in those noble sciences, under 
 " the continual tuition of Adam, with whom he lived till the 
 " year of the world 930, and succeeded him then in the 
 *^ grand direction of the craft ; who, as a monument of his 
 " superior abilities, and love to posterity, foreseeing the uni- 
 " versal desolation which would happen by fire and water, 
 " and deprive mankind of those arts and sciences already 
 *' improved, raised two huge pillars, one of brick, the other 
 " of stone, and inscribed thereon an abridgement of the arts 
 " and sciences, particularly geometry and Masonry, that if 
 " the pillar of brick happened to be overthrown by the flood, 
 " that of stone might remain ; which Josephus tells us was 
 
 * The readiness to receive Cain into the masonic brotherhood, certainly 
 fihows a catholic fcehnjT amongst them. If it were not in all respects too 
 grave and solemn a subject for a jest, we might question Cain's title to the 
 distinction, unless it were on account of having Morganised his brother 
 Abel J 
 
84 , LETTER Vm. 
 
 " to be seen in his time, in the land of Siriad, by the name- 
 " of Seth's, or Enoch's pillars."* 
 
 The world becoming wicked — " Methuselah, with his son 
 "Lamech, and grandson Noah, retired from the corrupt 
 "world, and in their own peculiar family preserved the 
 " good old religion of the promised Messiah pure, and also 
 " the royal art [of Masonry,] till the flood." 
 
 The ark is built, according to the principles of Masonry, 
 and Noah, his family and the cargo are housed therein, when 
 we learn that — " From these Masons, or four grand officers, 
 " (Noah and his sons,) the whole present race of mankind 
 "are descended." 
 
 " Being all of one language and speech, it came to pass 
 " as they journied from the east towards the west^ they 
 " found a plain in the land of Shinaar, and dwelt there to- 
 " gether, as Noachidce, or sons of Noah— the first name of 
 ''Masons" 
 
 The tower of Babel is built ; an observatory on the top 
 of it ; the language of the builders is confounded ; — and the 
 people dispersed — " All which shows, that, after the disper- 
 " sion, they still carried with them the knowledge of Ma- 
 " sonry, and improved it to a great degree of perfection." 
 
 " Nimrod, or Belus, the son of Cush, the eldest son of 
 " Ham, and founder of the Babylonian monarchy, kept pos- 
 " session of the plain, and founded the first great empire, at 
 " Babylon, and became Grand Master of all Masons, after 
 " the general migration." 
 
 * This legend of the^asonic writers, continues to bo cherished to this 
 day, by all the faithful. But in citing Josephus, Anderson, and his long 
 train of followers, forget to quote the comment of Dr. Whiston, the learned 
 translator of the Jewish historian, upon the passage respecting the pillars in 
 question, wherein, to say nothing of the absurdity of the supposition, that 
 the fabled pillars could have been discovered after the fountains of the great 
 deep had been so effectually broken up, it very satisfactorily appears that 
 Josephus mistook Seth or Sesostris, kmg of Egypt, who is supposed to have 
 erected the pillars referred to, for Seth the son of Adam. 
 
LETTER VIII. 85 
 
 " From Shinaar, the science and the art were carried to 
 " distant parts of the earth, notwithstanding the confusion 
 " of dialects, which gave rise to the MasorCs faculty, and 
 " universal practice of conversing without speaking, and of 
 " knowing each other by signs and tokens." 
 
 " Mizraim, or Menes, the second son of Ham, carried to, 
 " and preserved in, Egypt, their original skill, and much cul- 
 " tivatcd the ar^." And — " The successors of Mizraim, 
 " who styled themselves the sons of ancient kings, encoura- 
 *' ged the royal art, down to the last of their race, the learned 
 "king Amasis." 
 
 " The history fails in the south and west of Africa !" and 
 the posterity of Japhet, scattering off' to Scythia, Norway, 
 Gaul, Britain, and America, lost the art — careless fellows that 
 they were ! 
 
 But — " The offspring of Shem propagated the science and 
 " the art, as far as China and Japan." 
 
 ^' Abraham, born two years after the death of Noah, had 
 " learned well the science and the art, before the God of Glory 
 " called him to travel from Ur, of the Chaldees," and " He 
 " communicated his great skill to the Canaanites, for which 
 "they honored him as a prince." 
 
 Isaac, Ishmael and Jacob, of course, were taught the sci- 
 ence by their fathers. Joseph was so well instructed by his 
 father, " that he excelled the Egyptian Masons in knowledge, 
 " and was installed their Grand Master, by the command of 
 " Pharaoh." 
 
 " Ancient Masonry recognises Melchizedeck, as one of 
 " its most venerable patrons !"* 
 
 ~ * If any thing could add to the folly of this pretension, it might be found 
 in the fact, that it is not known by mortal man who Melchizedeck was. 
 Some believe him to have been Christ, or the Holy Ghost. Moses and 
 Paul speak of him as a man ; but all we are told of him is, that he was king 
 of Salem, and priest of the Most High God. The Jews and Samaritans 
 will have liim to be Shem, their ancestor. The Arabians insist that he was 
 a grand-son of Shem. Jurieu says he was Ham; and Dr Owen claims him 
 a^ a descendant of J apbeth. He was a Mason, no doubt ! 
 
86 LETTER VIH. 
 
 The Israelites practised but little Masonry in Egypt, 
 until " they were trained up" to the building of two cities 
 with stone and hrick, for the Egyptians, " in order to make 
 " them expert Masons, before they possessed the promised 
 « land." 
 
 " In their peregrination through Arabia to Canaan, God 
 " was pleased to inspire their Grand Master, Moses, Joshua, 
 "his Deputy G. M., and Aholiab, and Bezaleel, Grand 
 " Wardens, with wisdom of heart," &c. to build the taber- 
 nacle, &c. 
 
 " Moses excelled all Grand Masters before him." He 
 " ordered the more skillful to meet him, as in a grand 
 " lodge, near the tabernacle, in the passover week, and 
 " gave them wise charges, regulations, (fee, though the tra- 
 " dition thereof has not been transmitted down to us so 
 " perfect as might have been wished." 
 
 " Joshua succeeded in the direction, with Kaleb, his De- 
 ^^puty, and Eleazer, the High Priest, and Phineas his son, 
 " as Grand Wardens" 
 
 After the conquest and settlement of the promised land — 
 " The Israelites made a prodigious progress in the study of 
 " geometry and architecture, having many expert artists, in 
 ** every tribe that met in lodges, or societies for that pur- 
 " pose," &:c. 
 
 " The city of Tyre, Sor, or Tsor, was built by a great 
 " body of Sidonian Masons, from Gabala, under their Grand 
 " Master, and proper princes," (fee. 
 
 " The Phoenicians built, in a grand and sumptuous man- 
 " ner, under the direction of Sanconiathon, Grand Master 
 " of Masons in that province, the famous temple of Da- 
 " gon, at Gaza, and artfully supported it by two slender 
 " columns, not too big to be grasped in the arms of Sam- 
 " son," &c. 
 
 " In after times Ahibal, king of Tyre, repaired and beau- 
 " tified that city ; and so did his son Hiram. Being himself 
 
LETTER VIII. 87 
 
 " a Mason y he took the direction of the craft upon himself, 
 " and became a sumptuous Grand Master," &c. 
 
 " During all this period, the Israelites, by their vicinity to 
 " the artists of Tyre and Sidon, had great opportunity of 
 " cultivating the royal art, v^^hich they failed not diligently 
 " to pursue, and at last attained to a very high perfection, 
 " as well in operative Masonry, as in the regularity and 
 " discipline of their well-formed lodges, which, through 
 "all succeeding ages, have hitherto suffered no 
 
 " CHANGE !" 
 
 These quotations have been extended farther than was 
 really necessary for the mere exhibition of the most absurd 
 and ridiculous specimens of the history of the order. But hav- 
 ing commenced them, it occurred to me that it might per- 
 haps contribute to the amusement of the reader to be fur- 
 nished with a brief but genuine history of the order, from 
 the moment when " the fiat of light was given," to the time 
 of the building of Solomon's temple — comprising the first 
 grand division of the masonic annals. That portion of the 
 history, as above given, may be considered complete, ex- 
 cepting only the particular details of the works of the dis- 
 tinguished Masons mentioned, such as the building of cities, 
 towns, towers, &c. ; for every work of architecture and 
 sculpture, during the long range of centuries, from the city 
 of Cain, to the temple of Solomon, including the ark, the 
 tower of Babel, the pyramids and the Sphinx, are claimed 
 as the fruits of regular masonic organization ! 
 
 Such, sir, is the early history of Freemasonry, as written 
 m our books ; for although I have in these citations, follow- 
 ed Anderson and Entick, yet, with unessential variations of 
 language, the substance is much the same, with very few 
 exceptions, among all the masonic historians with whose 
 works I am acquainted, down even to the lectures of the 
 Rev. Salem Town, late Grand Chaplain to the Royal Arch 
 Chapter of this state. Among the exceptions to which I 
 
88 LETTER VIII. 
 
 refer, are Lawrence Demott, author of the original Ahimafl 
 Rezon, who very happily ridicules these ancient pretensions ; 
 and Dr. Dalcho, of whom I have already spoken in a pre- 
 ceding letter. 
 
 Nor does this description of history close with the erec- 
 tion of Solomon's temple. The same veracious writers, 
 with all possible gravity and candor, discourse to us of the 
 Masonry of all the principal oriental nations that rose, 
 flourished and fell, from the days of Solomon, to the decline 
 and fall of the Roman empire. David, we are assured, 
 was the last distinguished patron of the ancient masonic 
 principle, previously to the regular reorganization of the 
 institution at the building of the temple. Solomon's Ma- 
 sons rapidly dispersed themselves over the whole civilized 
 world, carrying with them, in all directions, the lights and 
 blessings of the order : and from this period, to the advent 
 of the Messiah, and indeed long afterwards, the kings and 
 priests, the nobles, and mighty men of the earth, are spoken 
 of as Masons and Grand Masters, with as much familiarity, 
 and with as little doubt or hesitancy, as we refer to the 
 events of cotemporaneous history. We are told that all 
 the Jewish kings of David's lineage, were Grand Masters ; 
 all the High Priests were Masons ; " Zerubbabel, and 
 " Joshua the High Priest, and Haggai, the prophet, were 
 ** skilled in ancient Masonry, and very distinguished patrons 
 ^ of the craft." We are told of Grand Master Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, and Grand Master Seleucus Nicanor ; Grand Master 
 Cyrus and Grand Master Cambyses ; Grand Master Ptolo- 
 my Philadclphus, (whose son was the last grand officer in 
 Egypt ;) Grand Master Julius Coesar, and Grand Mas- 
 ter Constantinc. Alexander, of Macedon, was expelled 
 from the order ; but it is a well established fact, that Ho- 
 mer, Zoroaster, Simonides, Socrates, Lycurgus, Solon, Py, 
 thagoras and Plato, were, all very expert Masons — they 
 having visited Egypt, where the lodges were (Irst organic 
 
LETTER VllI* 89 
 
 zed by Abraham, and were admitted into the sublime mys- 
 teries by the Egyptian priests. In short, it is difficuh to 
 conceive of pretensions more absurd, or of assertions more 
 preposterous, than those which comprise the whole matter 
 of masonic history, until within the last two centuries ; and 
 it is no cause of marvel, that the uninitiated, when they hear 
 these pretensions put gravely forth as facts, should treat 
 them as vain, idle, and ridiculous. 
 
 These absurdities, however, are not believed by all the 
 initiated. Many there are who have never heard of them ; 
 others treat them with becoming contempt ; w4iile others 
 again, who would claim Adam and Noah, Job, Solomon 
 and Daniel, as Masons, if pressed upon the subject, would 
 explain their meaning to be, that these ancient gentlemen 
 " were Masons in their hearts," and that all good men are 
 Masons. With many Masons, however, nothing more is 
 intended to be conveyed by speaking of particular indivi- 
 duals as having been Masons antecedently to the building 
 of Solomon's temple, and the heathen philosophers subse- 
 quently, than that they possessed a knowledge of the being 
 and existence of the one only true God. 
 
 The most sensible writer upon this subject, whom I have 
 consulted, is Alexander Lawrie, whose history of Freema- 
 sonry was published in Edinburgh, in 1S04. This work is 
 written in an attractive style, and bears evidence of exten- 
 sive research. It was published, in part, as an answer to 
 the works of Barruel and Robison. Rejecting the antedilu- 
 vian nonsense of his predecessors, and much that is post- 
 diluvian likewise, Lawrie nevertheless falls into the com- 
 mon error of confounding the operative stone masonry of 
 all ages, with the speculative Freemasonry of modern times. 
 He believes that its formation was gradual, with the pro- 
 gress of civilization among the ancients, as the study of 
 architecture advanced, and men associated together for im- 
 provement ; but he admits that the first, and the only object 
 
 12 
 
90 LETTER Vlll. 
 
 of the Masons, was the mutual communication of know- 
 ledge connected with their profession ; and that those only 
 could gain admittance into the order, whose labors were 
 subsidiary to those of the architect. In process of time, 
 the ambition of the Egyptian priests prompted them to seek 
 and procure admission into the society. " When they had 
 " accomplished this purpose, they connected the mythology 
 *' of their country, and the metaphysical speculations con- 
 ** cerning the nature of God, and the condition of man, with 
 " an association formed for the exclusive purpose of scienti- 
 " fie improvement, and produced that combination of science 
 " and theology, which, in after ages, formed such a conspi- 
 " cuous part of the principles of Freemasonry." Lawrie, in 
 fact, supposes Masonry to have originated in Egypt; to 
 have been transplanted thence into Greece ; thence into 
 Asia Minor, by the Ionian architects ; and thence into 
 Palestine, prior to the building of the temple. He of 
 course reads Freemasonry in those dark mysteries of the 
 Egyptian priests, from whom Moore has borrowed his 
 beautiful, but impossible fiction of the Epicurean. He also 
 discovers evidences of the order, in the rites and ceremo- 
 nies, of the Eleusinian mysteries of the Greeks, and also in 
 the organization and ceremonies of the Dyonisian architects. 
 The idea of teaching moral and religious truths by sym- 
 bols, and affecting to have high mysteries in charge, may 
 very likely have been borrowed by the Masons, from a 
 vague knowledge of those ancient mystic associations. 
 Thus, it is asserted, that there are masonic hieroglyphics 
 and emblems etched upon the Egyptian obelisks. The ig- 
 norant and credulous Mason, raises his eyes in wonder at 
 the intelligence ; but the scholar, and the man of science, 
 would reply, that if there were indeed any such emblems — 
 of which, however, Champollion has given us no informa- 
 tion — the Masons have doubtless adopted them from the 
 obelisk, and not the sculptor from the Masons. Much cu- 
 
LETTER YIIl, 91 
 
 rious information respecting these ancient mysteries, might 
 be brought within a small compass, without travelling far- 
 ther in the search than the introduction of Rollin — probably 
 the ultima Thule of masonic investigation upon this point ; 
 but the transcript would only encumber these desultory 
 speculations. So far as my own researches have extended, 
 I find nothing to sustain the masonic pretension, that these 
 ancient mystics were, in any manner or form, to be viewed 
 as cognate institutions. Pliny does indeed relate an instance 
 in which it is said that Anaxarchus, being apprehended by 
 somebody, in order to extort his secrets, bit his ow^n tongue 
 in the midst, and spit it in the tyranf s face ; choosing rather, 
 as the legend goes, to lose that organ than to discover those 
 secrets, which he had promised to conceal. Possibly the 
 hint of one of our unmeaning masonic penalties, may have 
 been borrowed from this questionable incident. 
 
 Equally difficult, in my apprehension, would be the task 
 of finding any verisimilitude between Freemasonry and the 
 mysteries of Ceres and Proserpine, which were borrow- 
 ed from Egypt, and celebrated with so much strictness in 
 several of the Grecian states, particularly in Attica. These 
 mysteries were held so highly sacred, that it was believed 
 the neglect of them would call down the divine vengeance 
 upon the offender, who vyas therefore ignominiously put to 
 death. Indeed the neglect of these mysteries was one of 
 the charges Vv^hich hastened the death of Socrates. Accord- 
 ing to the masonic writers, the christian fathers, some of 
 them, at least, have labored to prove that the knowledge of 
 the true God had been preserved by these mysteries ; and 
 Warburton, after a laborious investigation, has arrived at a 
 similar conclusion. His theory is, that those mysteries 
 consisted of scenic representations, inculcating a belief in 
 the Deity, and a future state of immortality. Among their 
 emblems were those of mortal life ; of death ; and of 
 IMMORTAL LIFE ; and the exhibitions of these mysteries, Aris- 
 
'92 LETTER VIII. 
 
 tides declared to be " the most shocking and most ravishing 
 " representations." In the same way, then, that Abraham 
 and Melchizedeck were Masons — that is to say, inasmuch 
 as they possessed a knowledge of the Deity, if Warburton's 
 hypothesis be correct, — in so far, and no farther, were the 
 priests of Egypt, and the Eleusinians, Masons. The only 
 other coincidence between these mysteries and any thing 
 connected with Masonry, exists in reference to the Tem- 
 plars. With the Eleusinian initiates, as the candidates 
 entered the temple, they purified themselves by washing 
 their hands in holy water, and received as an admonition, 
 that they were to come with a mind pure and undefiled, 
 without which the cleanliness of the body would be unac- 
 ceptable. Certain questions w^ere likewise propounded to 
 the candidates, strange sights and noises were seen and 
 heard, vivid flashes of lightning blazed upon the eye-balls,. 
 and deafening peals of thunder broke upon the startled ear. 
 The modern Templars do not practise the latter experi- 
 ments upon the nerves of the candidates. But in the gloomy 
 chamber of reflection ; in the solemn questions indicated in a 
 former letter ; and in the ablution in pure water, as a testimo- 
 ny of sincerity and innocence ; we have a coincidence which 
 could scarcely have been the result of accident. Still, the 
 similarity of course proves no ancient connexion between 
 the insatutions, since nothing could have been easier than 
 to adjust the latter in some respects to the facts related of 
 the former ; while the designing pretender might very easily 
 flatter himself; that the existence of a strong resemblance in 
 the ceremonies reported of the one, and practised by the 
 other, might, by the ignorant, be greedily received as proof 
 of regular succession, and the common origin of both. 
 
 Comparisons have been instituted by Lawrie, and other 
 masonic writers, between the Kasidean and Pythagorean 
 fraternities, and the Freemasons ; and very strenuous etTorts 
 "have been made to connect the order with the christian era. 
 
LETTER VIII. 93 
 
 by strong supposed resemblances between the rites and ce- 
 remonies of Masons and the Essenes — a sect among the 
 Jews, the origin of which is unknown, as well as the etymo- 
 logy of their name. They are first mentioned in the book 
 of Maccabees, about B. C. 150 years. They lived in soli- 
 tude, and had all their possessions in common. Certain 
 examinations preceded the admission of candidates to their 
 society. If his life had been exemplary, and if, during his 
 noviciate, he appeared capable of curbing his conduct, and 
 regulating his life according to the virtuous and austere 
 maxims of their order, he w^as presented with a white gar- 
 ment, as an emblem of the purity of his heart. A solemn 
 oath was then administered to him, that he would never 
 divulge the secrets of the order ; that he would make no 
 innovations on the doctrines of the society ; and that he 
 would continue that honorable course of purity and virtue 
 which he had commenced. They admitted no women into 
 the order, and they had particular signs for recognizing each 
 other. So great was the reserve of the members of these 
 people, who dwelt along the western coast of the Dead Sea, 
 like hermits, that nothing of their secrets ever escaped 
 them, for which reason the most learned have been unable 
 to say in what those secrets consisted. Philo says they 
 sacrificed no Hving creature, and that they shunned cities. 
 Josephus says they sent presents to the temple, but offered 
 no sacrifices there. They had purer ideas of God than the 
 Jews commonly entertained, a strict code of morals, and a 
 Pythagorean manner of life. Instead of performing exter- 
 nal rites, they devoted themselves to prayer and silent 
 devotion, scrupulously observed the sabbath, were extreme- 
 ly abstinent, and liealed diseases of every kind by roots and 
 herbs. They rejected the subtleties of the Pharisees and 
 Sadducees.* I have spoken of this sect with greater mi- 
 nuteness than I should otherwise have done, because of the 
 
 * Vide Ency. Americana, Josephus, Reinhard, Lawrie. 
 
94 LETTER VIII. 
 
 efforts that have been made by writers upon the subject of 
 secret societies, especially of the German schools, to identify 
 Freemasonry with the Essenes, and not only this, but to 
 })rove that Christ and his apostles were members of the Es- 
 sene mystics, and that it was by means of secret associa- 
 tions that Christianity was first propagated — a supposition 
 which finds no warrant in history, sacred or profane. Some 
 of these writers have contended, that Jesus Christ himself 
 was connected with the Essenes, and others that he was the 
 founder of a secret society of his own, and that the Gnos- 
 tics, the Ophites, the Basilidians, and other sects of mystics, 
 were branches of the society thus founded by the Saviour. 
 Among the most conspicuous of these writers, are Carl 
 Leonhard, Reinhold, Bahrdt, and August Kestner. It is 
 affirmed " that the whole Mosaic religion was an initiation 
 '• into mysteries, the principal forms and ceremonies of 
 '• which were borrowed by Moses from the secrets of the 
 " Egyptians." This is the system of Reinhold, in his work 
 upon Hebrew mysteries, and religious Freemasonry. It is 
 Bahrdt, who more particularly attributes to the Saviour the 
 plan of christianizing the world by means of a secret socie- 
 ty ; while Kestner alledges it in respect to the apostles and 
 the christian fathers of the first century. He gives a mi- 
 nute account of the organization of a secret and powerful 
 confederacy, by Clement, after the fall of Jerusalem, and 
 the death of his instructors, Peter and Paul, which extended 
 throughout the Roman empire. The design was to advance 
 the sacred cause of Christianity, by means of the society, 
 the members of which were carried through the degrees 
 of a symbolical and mystical system of instruction. In aid of 
 the project, some of the Clementinian confederates are said, 
 by their cunning, to have " purloined the records, and pri- 
 " vate books of the so called secret society of theologians, 
 *' established by John the Evangelist ; and the founder of 
 " the confederacy connected the consecrating ritual of John's 
 
LETTER VIII. 95 
 
 ** mysteries, with Jewish and heathen ceremonies and mys- 
 " tical symbols of a masonical character, and thus, after 
 " estabUshing a christian priesthood, ordained a mysterious 
 *' worship of God, which was introduced by its missiona- 
 " ries and abettors into all parts of the then civilized world.'* 
 On the martyrdom of Clement, his society had been ex- 
 tended into almost every region, and numbered a million of 
 adherents. Domitian was aware of its existence, but could 
 not touch it. Trajan persecuted and put many thousands 
 of them to death. But Hadrian, being fond of the mechanic 
 arts, the members continued to mask their societies under 
 the guise of operative mechanics, and thus secwred his fa- 
 vor. Antoninus Pius guarded the confederacy with great 
 strictness, politically, but favored them in other respects. 
 Marcus Aurelius caused himself to be initiated into their 
 mysteries, and became their protector; Polycarp was one 
 of the spreaders of the society ; — and Kestner pretends to 
 trace it down, noting the opposition it was from time to 
 time fated to encounter, to the Montanistic rebellion, when 
 it obtained a decided victory. 
 
 Reinhold's work was published in 1788. It was answer- 
 ed by Eichhorn, and several others, of the orthodox Ger- 
 man schools. Among these, was the celebrated F. V. Rein- 
 hard, who, in his last enlarged edition of the " Plan of the 
 *' Founder of Christianity," published in 1798, refuted the 
 skeptic most decisively. An edition of this admirable work, 
 has lately been published in this country, from the revised 
 edition of Dr. Heubner, professor of theology at Wittem- 
 burg. A reply of much critical skill and learning, and of 
 equal conclusiveness, to the work of Bahrdt, above mention- 
 ed, has also been written by professor H., and inserted in 
 the appendix to Dr. Reinhard's " Plan." As this valuable 
 work is now before the public, in an English dress, it would 
 be a waste of time to add a synopsis of the facts and argu- 
 ments, by which these skeptics have all been triumphantly 
 
 \ 
 
96 LETTER Vlir. 
 
 refuted. Nothing, indeed, can be more absurd, than the 
 allegation both in respect to Moses, and Christ, with his 
 apostles, and their successors. Those arguments were, in 
 a great degree, cabalistic ; and a hidden mystery was 
 sought in the language of the Saviour, and the writers of 
 various sacred books and epistles, which would destroy 
 their simplicity and beauty, and indeed their whole charac- 
 ter as a revelation of the simple word of the Creator to his 
 creatures. Notliing could have been more foreign to the 
 plan of Christ, than the idea of putting the hidden springs of 
 a secret society into operation, for the execution of the pur- 
 poses of his glorious mission. The Essenes were the only 
 secret cotemporancous society among the Jews ; but we 
 no where read of his visiting the district of country where 
 these hermits lived ; while, on the contrary, his whole life 
 was one of unrestrained frankness, and his labors were of 
 the most public character. Wherever he went, he was 
 thronged by thousands ; he was continually an object of the 
 most jealous watclifulness on the part of the elders and 
 rulers of the land ; and he was only able occasionally to 
 steal away, under cover of the mantle of night, into the 
 fields, for his hours of solitary devotion. But it is idle to 
 pursue the subject. Those who believe with the skeptics 
 who thus audaciously attempt to connect the Saviour with 
 societies of a masonic character, or with any secret society 
 whatever, must, at the same time, strip him of his divinity ; 
 for, like the infidel writers who have attributed the mira- 
 des of Moses to necromancy, so in regard to Christ — his 
 miracles have, also, by those who would invest him with the 
 habiliments of Masonry, been declared to partake of the 
 same nature — to have been wrought by virtue of arts and 
 enchantments, the knowledge of which w^as acquired hy 
 him during his residence with his parents in Egypt, and 
 perfected in the secret societies, after his return to Judea !. 
 
LETTER VIII. 97 
 
 If every writer upon Masonry had exercised the candor 
 Hnd good sense of Dr. Dalcho, the late Grand Master of 
 South Carohna, of whom I have spoken before, we should 
 not have so much cause of chagrin, as must be experienced 
 in wading through the wretched absurdities which are to 
 be encountered in such investigations as the present. In 
 the notes to an edition of the Ahiman Rezon, published by 
 him, he very candidly says — " Neither Adam, nor Nimrod, 
 " nor Moses, nor Joshua, nor David, nor Solomon, nor Hi- 
 *' ram, nor St* John the Evangelist, nor St. John the Baptist, 
 "belonged to the masonic order. It is unwise to assert 
 " more than we can prove, and to argue against probability. 
 " There is no record, sacred or profane, to induce us to be- 
 " lieve that these holy and distinguished men were Freema- 
 " sons, and our traditions do not go back to their days. To 
 " assert that they were Freemasons, may make tiie vulgar 
 '^ stare, but will rather excite the contempt than the admira- 
 " tion of the wise. Let Freemasons, then, give up their vain 
 " boastings, which ignorance has foisted into the order, and 
 " relinquish a fabulous antiquity, rather than sacrifice com- 
 "mon sense." In another place, the same reverend and 
 judicious Grand Master, speaking of the festival days of the 
 two St. Johns, remarks : — ^" Why either of them should liave 
 " been chosen in preference to any other day, is, perhaps, 
 " difficult to explain. I know of no connexion between 
 *' these eminent servants of God, and the Freemasons. I 
 " now write as a minister of the God, to whose honor and 
 " glory my life is devoted, and to whom I must, ere long, 
 *^ give an account of my stewardship. I tliink I run no haz- 
 " ard of contradiction, in saying, that if these most holy men 
 " were now permitted to revisit the earth, they would great- 
 " ly wonder at finding their names enrolled as patrons of 
 " an institution of which they had never heard ; and ther^ 
 ** can be no question of the fact, that if they were now to 
 
 '• apply for admission into any of our lodges, thev would b6 
 
 13 
 
98 LETTER IX. 
 
 « Utterly incapable of working their way in." 'lliese are 
 plain truths, to which every enlightened Mason, if he speaks 
 truly, will respond " Amen." 
 
 With liigh consideration, I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 New- York, Jan. 8, 183^. 
 Sir, 
 
 In regard to the antiquity of Freemasonry proper, — I 
 mean as it has descended to us from the English, for I deny 
 that it has any affinity or relationship with the infidel asso- 
 ciations of France, of any degree, whatever agency the 
 Duke of Orleans may have had in commissioning a messen- 
 ger to bring it hither, — it is exceedingly difficult to arrive at 
 any satisfactory result. All its histories are, comparatively, 
 of modern date, although they plunge deep into the twilight 
 of antiquity, with as much boldness as though they had the 
 whole Alexandrian library to cite as authorities. This ab- 
 sence of unwritten early history, is ascribed to an irrepara- 
 ble loss sustained by the lodges in 1720, by the burning of 
 the ancient records of the order, together with a learned 
 and elaborate historical treatise by Nicholas Stone, a curi- 
 ous sculptor of tliat day. These records were burnt by the 
 over scrupulous members of the order, who, alarmed by the 
 publication of constitutions, and the formularies of the craft, 
 feared that other disclosures, jeoparding the existence of the 
 society, might follow. In more modern times, as will by 
 and bye appear, it might have been my unhappy name- 
 sake, and not the manuscripts, that would have been con- 
 demned to the flames. 
 
 It was not, sir, my design, when I commenced this branch 
 of the discussion, in my last letter, to draw very largely 
 
LETTER IX. 99 
 
 from the books upon the subject, — aware, as I very well 
 am, that few persons could hope to call your attention to 
 any historical information, with which your mind is not al- 
 ready stored. Yet, as this question, the antiquity of Ma- 
 sonry, has been much debated, and as these sheets must ne- 
 cessarily fall under the eyes of others than yourself, I have 
 thought it might not be altogether a waste of time to collect 
 and throw into this popular form, such items of general in- 
 formation, respecting it, as I could conveniently bring to- 
 gether within a reasonable space. I trust that you will 
 therefore pardon me, while I dwell somewhat longer upon 
 this point, even though I should find it necessary to go yet 
 further into detail. 
 
 All the encyclopasdists whom I have found leisure to con- 
 sult, have noticed the institution more or less at large, and 
 several have appropriated considerable space to the subject. 
 Dr. Rees cites Preston, a masonic historian, and Past Mas- 
 ter of the lodge of Antiquities, largely, and with approbation. 
 This writer supposes the introduction of Masonry into 
 England to have been prior to the Roman invasion — that the 
 Druids were in possession of the masonic secrets, and prac- 
 tised their customs, and that Cccsar and his generals were 
 its ardent friends and supporters. After the Romans left 
 England, the labors of the order were obstructed by the 
 irruptions of the Picts and Scots ; but the institution revived 
 again with the introduction of Christianity, by St. Austin^ 
 who was its zealous patron. So says Preston; but Dr. 
 Dalcho declares the idea of Austin's coming over from 
 Rome, as the minister of Freemasonry, to be as great an 
 absurdity as the supposition that the book of the law owes 
 its preservation to the Masons. The Bishop came over to 
 England at the head of forty monks, instead of Freemasons. 
 The English historian, Henry, attributes the origin of 
 the Masons in England, to the difficulty experienced, in 
 oarly times, of obtaining enough men of skill, to build the 
 
100 LETTER IX. 
 
 churches and monasteries of the middle ages; and that, 
 consequently, architects and builders were favored by the 
 Popes with indulgencies, to augment their numbers. In 
 support of this position he quotes an author, the name of 
 whom I have not been able to ascertain, stating that some 
 Greek refugees, with Frenchmen, Germans and Flemings^ 
 formed a fraternity of architects, and, procuring papal bulls, 
 ranged from nation to nation, where churches were to be 
 built, encamped in huts by themselves, and framed regulv 
 tions for their own government, according with the pecu- 
 liar circumstances of their occupation, and the lives they 
 were leading. "Masonry was restored, and some other 
 *' arts connected with it, introduced into England," says 
 Henry, " towards the end of the seventh century, by two 
 " clergymen, who were great travellers, and had often visit- 
 " ed Rome, where they had gained a taste for the arts."* 
 This sentence, separated from the context, might be sup- 
 *posed to apply either to speculative or operative Masonry, as 
 the reader might choose to construe it. But the historian pro- 
 ceeds to inform his reader, that the two travelling ecclesias- 
 tics were, Wilfred, Bishop of York, afterwards of Hexham, 
 and Benedict Biscop, founder of the abbey of Weremouth. 
 Biscop, we are told, made no fewer than six journies to 
 Rome, collecting books, pictures, statues, and other curiosi- 
 ties ; — then crossing over into France, he collected a num- 
 ber of Masons, " and brought them over into England to 
 " build their churches and monasteries, of stone, as they did 
 ** in Rome.^' In the same way, they sent over to France for 
 glass-makers, &c. The historian then proceeds to give a 
 gorgeous description of the magnificent church built by' 
 these Masons at Hexham, the ground lor which was given 
 by queen Etheldreda. A cotcmporary historian quoted by 
 Henry, describing the grandeur of this structure, conceives 
 that the plan of it must have been inspired by the spirit of 
 
 * Vol. 4, Lon. ed. of !7S3— Chnpt'^r on tho Arta. 
 
LETTER IX. 101 
 
 God, such was the grandeur of the design, and the splendor 
 of its execution. But in all this, Dr. Henry makes no allu- 
 sion whatever to a regularly organized society, and evident- 
 ly intends to be understood as referring to operative builders 
 — stone masons — and nothing more. This construction is 
 rendered still more obvious, from the manner in vv^hich the 
 author speaks of the introduction of Masonry into Scotland. 
 In the year 710, he informs us, in the chapter already 
 quoted, that there was not so much as one church of stone 
 in the kingdom, or an artist in Scotland who could build 
 one. Naitan, king of the Picts, wrote to Ceolfred, abbot of 
 Weremouth, entreating him to send him over some masons, 
 to build a church of stone in his kingdom, in imitation of the 
 Romans, — promising to dedicate the edifice, when comple- 
 ted, to St. Peter. Bede, who was then living in the abbey 
 of Weremouth, states that " the reverend abbot Ceolfred 
 ^' granted his pious request, and sent masons according to 
 " his desire." These, again, were operative masons ; but 
 Henry, nevertheless, was of the opinion, that the masons 
 thus introduced into England and Scotland, were descend- 
 ed from the Collegia Artificum of the Romans, and that the 
 masonic institution of his own times, was derived from those 
 travelling artizans. 
 
 Chambers's Encyclopsedia, (London edition of 1781,) 
 speaks of the institution as " a very ancient society, or body 
 ^' of men, so called from some extraordinary knowledge of 
 •• masonry or building. They were very considerable for 
 •' numbers and character, consisting principally of persons 
 " of merit and consideration." It is, however, admitted by 
 Chambers, to be very doubtful when the order was introdu- 
 ced into England. *• Some," he says, " have traced the ori- 
 " gin of Masonry, in general, to the year 674, when the 
 ^* manufacture of glass was introduced. It is certain that 
 ^' after this time, many of the public buildings in England, 
 *' in the Gothic style^ were erected l)y men in companie-g. 
 
102 LETTER IX. 
 
 ^' who, it is said, called themselves free, because they were 
 ^' at liberty to work in any part of the kingdom they might 
 " select." Others have derived the institution of Freema- 
 sons from a combination among the masons not to work 
 without an advance of wages, when they were summoned 
 from several counties, by writs of Edward III., directed 
 to the sheriffs, to assist in rebuilding and enlarging the cas- 
 tle, together with the church and chapel of St. George, at 
 Windsor : accordingly, it was said that the masons agreed 
 on signs, tokens, emblems, &c., by which they might know 
 one another, and to assist each other against being impress- 
 ed, and to avoid being compelled to work unless free, and 
 on THEIR OWN TERMS. The end, thus far, appeared lauda- 
 ble enough ; — tending only to promote social intercourse, 
 friendship, mutual assistance, and good fellowship. 
 
 The true re-establishment of Masonry in England, says 
 Dr. Rees, " is dated from king Athelstan ; and there is still 
 *' existing an ancient lodge in York, tracing its origin to that 
 " period. After the decease of Athelstan, the Masons were 
 " dispersed, and remained so, until 960, when they were col- 
 " lectcd under the reign of Edgar, by St. Dunstan." " It 
 " again declined until /the reign of Edward the Confessor, 
 " when they were summoned to the building of Westminster 
 "Abbey, in 1041." From this period its history is traced 
 with great particularity, by Dr. Rees, down to the acces- 
 sion of George I. — The narrative gives a rapid view of the 
 vicissitudes of good and ill fortune which attended the pro- 
 gress of the institution during that period, together with the 
 names of the whole line of Grand Masters, and distinguished 
 patrons, both in church and state, according to the testimo- 
 ny of Preston — which is as doubtful as the greatest skeptic 
 could desire. 
 
 'llio author of the Age of Reason, wrote a tract in con- 
 nexion with the third part of that infamous work, upon the 
 oriofin of Freemasonrv. But notwithstandincr his usual sa- 
 
LETTER IX. 103 
 
 gacity, he also has suffered himself to be deceived as to its 
 antiquity. A full disclosure of the secrets of Masonry was 
 published by Samuel Pritchard, in 1 730, who made oath to 
 the truth of his work, before the lord mayor of London. As 
 Masonry was then constituted, Pritchard's disclosures were 
 as full and complete as those afterwards made under the ti- 
 tle of " Jachin and Boaz," or the later revelations of Mor- 
 gan. There was then but one obligation for the three de- 
 grees, and that was much shorter than either of those at pre- 
 sent in use.* Paine takes the revelations of Pritchard for his 
 guide, and endeavors to prove that the institution was deriv- 
 ed from the religion of the Druids, who, he says, were wor- 
 shippers of the sun. He also supposes that both Masonry 
 and the Druidical religion came from the fire worshippers, 
 in the east. His argument, in regard to the Druidical char- 
 acter of Freemasonry, is founded chiefly upon the fact, that 
 the sun is a masonic emblem ; that frequent references are 
 made to the sun in the rites and ceremonies of the lodge ; 
 that masonic edifices, are always erected " due east and 
 -^^ west ;" and that the words of the formularies — " as the 
 " sun rises in the east, to open and adorn the day, so does 
 *' the Worshipful Master stand in the east to open and adorn 
 " the lodge," &c., convey the same allusion. But there is 
 neither history nor tradition, to support the hypothesis of 
 Paine. His premises, therefore, being false, his conclusions 
 are equally so ; and if, as he asserts, there be really a coin- 
 cidence between the ceremonies of the lodges, and the rites 
 of the Druids, the masons must have adopted them, as they 
 are alledged to have accommodated to the same object the 
 emblems and insignia of the Rosicrucians, which were the 
 tools and aprons of the handicraft masons. Other writers, 
 however, have mentioned the Druids as having practised 
 rites and mysteries, corresponding, in some respects, with 
 
 '^ Yidc Appendix C. 
 
104 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 those of the Masons. But these ceremonies were beheverl 
 to have been derived from the Pythagoreans. There wa^ 
 a similarity between the fraternities of the Druids and the 
 Pythagoreans, according to Henry and others, as well in 
 their forms and mysteries, as in their religious and philoso- 
 phical opinions. But this fact does not help to sustain the 
 hypothesis of Paine. 
 
 The Encyclopsedia Britannica has given a condensed, 
 but a still better history of the society, than that of Rees, 
 although it is very evident that, for the most part, both have 
 drawn their information from the same identical sources.- 
 And the article " Masonry," in the 8th volume of the Ency- 
 clopa3dia Americana, a valuable w^ork now^ in the course of 
 publication on the basis of the German Conversations Lexi- 
 con, contains a more compact, and, on the whole, I am in- 
 clined to think, a better account than either of the works to 
 which I have yet referred. Disregarding, as it ought, the 
 idle traditions connecting the society with the Greek or 
 Egyptian mysteries, or claiming its descent from the Diony- 
 sian architects, or the Pythagorean society ; denying, also, 
 and wdth equal justness, that it sprung from the Templars, 
 the Jesuits, or the Rosicrucians, or even from the common 
 corporation of masons, the last mentioned w^ork entertains 
 the opinion in common with Henry, that speculative Mason- 
 ry, as I have just mentioned, was derived irom the Collegia 
 Artificum of the Romans, or societies of architects and ar- 
 tificers, who sprang from the Collegia, and w^erc transplant- 
 ed over tlie various countries of western Europe, in the 
 train of their legions. There was no tow^n, how^ever small, 
 and no province, however distant, visited by the Roman 
 arms, where some of the Collegia did not exist, until the 
 downfall of the empire. Many of their members w-ere, of 
 course, transplanted to Britain, but driven thence by the Scots 
 and Picts, as I have already noted. Nevertheless, they still 
 continued to flourish in other Europcnn countries, wliencc 
 
LETTER IX. lOS 
 
 they Were subsequently invited to England, by Alfred and 
 Aihelstan, to assist in building their castles, abbeys and 
 convents, and on repairing thither, received letters of protec- 
 tion from the Pope and the King, extending to them certain 
 privileges, as I have already mentioned, upon other authori- 
 ties. " They then united, under v^^ritten constitutions, foun- 
 "ded upon the ancient constitutions of the Roman and 
 " Greek colleges, and the provisions of the civil law. Their 
 " religious tenets, being often objects of suspicion to the or- 
 " thodox catholics, and often diflering amongst themselves, 
 " were not allowed to obtrude in their meetings, and were 
 " of course kept secret. Secrecy, moreover, was the char- 
 " acter of all the corporations of the middle ages, and down 
 " to the most recent times, the corporations of mechanics 
 " on the European continent, had what they called ' secrets 
 " of the craft,' — certain words, or, sometimes, absurd cere- 
 " monies, by which they pretended to know each other. To 
 " this it must be added, that the corporations of architects 
 " in the middle ages, were descended from the times of an- 
 ^* tiquity, so that their societies had received, in the times 
 " when the Romans adored all gods, and listened to all phi- 
 " losophical systems, impressions derived from the Greek 
 " philosophical schools, particularly the stoic, united v/ith 
 " some fragments of the Egyptian mysteries, and subse- 
 " quently modified by notions acquired in the early times of 
 *' Christianity, particularly from the Gnostics, which led to 
 " certain doctrines and sacred ceremonies, clothed, accord- 
 " ing to the spirit of the time, in symbols, and constituting 
 " their esoteric mxysteries." In time, these masons, or ar- 
 chitects, thus assembled in England, formed schools of the 
 fine arts, to which many respectable artists, native and for- 
 eign, resorted for initiation. Such was their character so 
 late as when Inigo Jones presided over the order as Grand 
 Master. 
 
 14 
 
106 LETTER IX. 
 
 I do not pretend, sir, nor do I wish to prove, by any of 
 these gleanings from the books, that Freemasonry, in the 
 manner and form of its organization during the last centu- 
 ry, had an existence as a charitable and social institution, ir- 
 respective of any particular labor in the advancement of the 
 arts ; but that the society had a very ancient being,in England, 
 in some form, I think cannot be doubted. All the circumstan- 
 ces and incidents stated of its early history, may not be true. 
 Doubtless they are not : but still, there are facts and evi- 
 dences enough, which cannot be questioned, to sustain this 
 position. St. Alban is said to have been a great friend to 
 the masons, and to have obtained a charter for them to hold 
 general councils, or assembly s, as they were called. The 
 wages of the operatives were at that time — about A. D. 
 300 — a penny a day, the workmen being found. These 
 circumstances are said to be mentioned in a manuscript 
 written in the time of James II only that this latter ac- 
 count makes the wages of the masons to have been 3s. 6d. 
 per diem, and that of the bearers of burdens 3d. per diem. 
 In regard to the particular agency of St. Alban, in procuring 
 a masonic charter, however, I confess myself rather incre- 
 dulous. But I am inclined to believe that a lodge was insti- 
 tuted in Yorkshire, about the year 916 of the christian era. 
 The tradition is, that the lodge was instituted at Audley, 
 near York, by a <;harter from Athelstan, under the patron- 
 age of the king's brother Edwin, whose seat was at Audley. 
 Certain it is, that there is a very ancient lodge at York, and 
 for a long succession of years the meetings were held therc^ 
 and the lodge is believed to have been continued in regular 
 succession at that place, down even to the present day, 
 where the original charter, written in Anglo Saxon, is yet 
 preserved. The employment of the members of this lodge^ 
 in its early career, was the building of monasteries, abbey» 
 and churches. 
 
LETTER IX. 107 
 
 Attempts were made during the rebellion in tlie i-eign of 
 Henry V., to inculpate the Masons as the authors of it, but 
 "without success. After Gloucester's execution, the king 
 himself became a member of the order, and is said to have 
 paid great attention to it. He perused and sanctioned its 
 constitutions, and many of the nobles followed his example 
 in favoring the society. In 1425, during the reign of Hen- 
 ry VI., an act wa^ passed against the meetings of the chap- 
 ters and congregations of Masons, in consequence of an al- 
 ledged interference with the business and wages of laborers. 
 The society was at that time organized under Henry Chich- 
 ley. Archbishop of Canterbury, who was tlie Grand Mas- 
 ter. The act was supposed to have been procured hy the 
 illiterate clergy, who were hostile to the secrecy observed 
 by the society — believing that they had an indefeasible 
 right to be made acquainted with all secrets, by virtue of 
 auricular confession ; and the Masons would not confess. 
 The Archbishop, however, had sufficient influence to pre- 
 vent the execution of the law. But the Roman catholics 
 have uniformly been the most bitter opponents of the insti- 
 tution in Europe, since its revival in England, and propaga- 
 tion from thence to the continent, about one hundred years 
 ago. It was speedily proscribed in France, the Netherlands, 
 Italy, Spain and Portugal ; and in our own day, the decrees 
 t)f the latter powers against it, have often been echoed in 
 thunders from the Vatican — probably because it infringes 
 upon the privileges which they wish to enjoy themselves. 
 Auricular confession is sacred. No menace nor power can 
 extort from the priest a secret so sacredly and uiviolably 
 reposed. The catholic priest, if a true catholic, will have 
 his throat cut across, and his tongue plucked out by the 
 roots, before he will reveal the secrets of the confessional 
 But when a rival despository of secrets is created, it is quitf 
 me autre chose. It must be put down: it is heretical 
 
108 lETTER IX. 
 
 Elizabeth undertook to suppress the order altogether ; 
 but was diverted from her purpose. James I. patronized 
 the lodge of Scotland, and settled a revenue of £4 Scots, 
 to be paid by every Master Mason to a Grand Master, to 
 be a man nobly born, or a clergyman, his appointment to be 
 approved by the crown. 
 
 The earliest historical mention of Freemasonry, as a so- 
 cial society, corresponding, in several respects, with the in- 
 stitution of the present day, is contained in Plofs Natural 
 History of Staffordshire. Dr. Plot was a learned philoso- ' 
 pher, and an antiquary. He was a member of the Royal 
 Society ; historiographer to the king, and also, at one time, 
 librarian and keeper of the Ashmolean Library and Museum, 
 at Oxford. His account is so curious and instructing with- 
 al, and so important, as being, in fact, the earliest classical 
 record of the existence of the society in this form, that I 
 make no apology for transcribing the whole passage : — 
 " They have a custom in Staffordshire, of admitting men 
 " into the society of Freemasons, that in the moorelands of' 
 " this country seems to be of greater request than any where 
 " else, though I find the custom spread, more or less, all over 
 " the nation ; for here I found persons of the most eminent 
 " quality, that did not disdain to be of this fellowship ; nor, 
 " indeed need they, were it of that antiquity and honor that 
 " is pretended, in a large parchment volume they have 
 " amongst them, containing the history and rules of the craft 
 'f of Masonry, which is there deduced not only from sacred 
 " writ, but profane story ; particularly that it was brought 
 " into England by >S'^. Amphihal, and first communicated to 
 ^^ St. AJhan, &g. Into which society, when any are admit- 
 " ted, they call a meeting, (or lodge, as they term it in some 
 " places,) which must consist at least of five or six of' the 
 " ancients of the order, whom the candidates present with 
 " gloves, and so likewise to their wives, and entertain with 
 
LETTER IX. 109 
 
 *■* a collation, accordipig to the custom of the place. This 
 " ended, they proceed to the admission of them, which chief- 
 '• ly consists in the communication of certain secret signs, 
 ** whereby they are known to one another all over the na- 
 " tion, by which means they have maintenance whitherever 
 " they travel ; for if any man appear, though altogether un- 
 " known, that can show any of these signs t(i a felloio of the 
 " society, whom they otherwise call an accepted Mason., he 
 " is obliged presently to come to him, from what company 
 " or place soever he be in ; nay, though from the top of a 
 " steeple, what hazard or inconvenience soever he run, to 
 " know his pleasure and assist him ; viz. if he want work, he 
 " is bound to find him some ; or, if he cannot do that, to give 
 " him money, or otherwise support him till work can be 
 " had, which is one of their articles ; and it is another, that 
 " they advise the masters they work for, according to the 
 " best of their skill, acquainting them with the goodness or 
 " badness of their materials ; and if they be any way out in 
 " the contrivance of the buildings, modestly to rectify them 
 " in it, that Masonry be not dishonored ; and many such like 
 " that are commonly known. But some others they have, 
 " (to which they are sworn after their fashion,) that none 
 " know but themselves, which I have reason to suspect, are 
 " much worse than these, perhaps as bad as this History of 
 •' the Craft itself ; than which there is notliing I ever met 
 *' with, more false or incoherent." 
 
 This work was written about the year 1666. Thomas 
 Ashmole, for whom the author. Dr. Plot, was sometime 
 librarian, was likewise a philosopher, an antiquary, and a 
 man of great learning. He was admitted to the freedom oi 
 the Masons' corporation, in London, in 1646. He w^as the 
 last of the Rosicrucians, and was given much to the study 
 of alchemy and astrology. Ever employed in advancing 
 the cause of science and learning, his labors were indefati- 
 gable in procuring collections of medals, manuscripts, and 
 
110 LETTER IX. 
 
 rare and valuable works, particularly upon those sciences i» 
 the study of which he took so much delight. The Freema- 
 sons have ever been anxious to claim him as one of the 
 craft ; and he speaks himself, in his private diary, under date 
 of March 10, 1682, of receiving a summons to attend a 
 lodge, the next day, at Masons' Hall. Under date of March 
 11, he gives aa account of attending the lodge, and notes 
 down the names of new members " admitted into the fel- 
 " lowship of the lodge." He also mentions " a noble dinner," 
 of which he partook, " prepared at the charge of the new 
 *' accepted Masons." The fact that Ashmole was a Rosicru- 
 cian — the last of the number, as it is said — may, perhaps, be 
 taken as an evidence that there was possibly some re- 
 semblance between the ceremonies of the Masons, and those 
 of the order of the ro§y cross. As the masonic society was 
 undergoing changes at the period of Ashmole's membership, 
 his attachment to the mysteries of his favorite order, then 
 extinguished, may have induced him to incorporate some of 
 their rites and ceremonies with those of the Masons. 
 
 During the greater part of the reign of Anne, the society 
 declined, although it was revived, or rather received a new 
 impulse, in 1705. It was at about that time determined that 
 the privileges of the order should not be confined to opera- 
 tive masons, but that persons of all trades and professions 
 might be admitted to a participation with its mysteries. 
 This innovation, in the reign of Queen Anne, is much to be 
 regretted. It is known and admitted that of the arts, only 
 one has declined, and that is architecture. Recent edifices 
 may be more gorgeous and costly, but in taste and gran- 
 deur, the moderns are unquestionably far behind the archi- 
 tects of even the Gothic ages. This may have been owing 
 to the encouragement formerly bestowed upon them. When 
 a particular pursuit is greatly rewarded, either by wealth 
 or fame, it is with almost entire certainty advanced to ex- 
 cellence. In feudal times, — when the little learning extant 
 
LETTER IX. Ill 
 
 Was confined to the cells of the monks — when few could 
 read and fewer write — when crosses, seals, and armorial 
 bearings were substituted for the sign-manual, it cannot be 
 surprising that the architects^ then the most popular, envied, 
 and " rewarded," of operatives, should have endeavored to 
 secure to themselves and their order a monopoly, by avail- 
 ing themselves of those modes of secrecy and appropriation 
 which corresponded with the spirit of the times. 
 
 The general assembly of the Grand Lodge of York, had 
 continued to meet as usual, even while the society was not 
 prosperous. In the year last mentioned, there was a large 
 convocation at York, under the direction of Sir John Tem- 
 pest, and many persons of worth and character were initia- 
 ted. Previously to this date, another Grand Lodge had 
 sprung up. That of York was called the " Grand Lodge 
 " of England." Its rival, in contradistinction, arrogated to 
 itself the title of " Grand Lodge of all England." They 
 were on amicable terms at this time ; but difficulties at 
 length arose which produced a breach that has never been 
 healed. 
 
 There was also a quarrel, of long standing, between the 
 York Masons and those of Scotland, arising from their re- 
 Spective claims to priority of antiquity. Even yet the dif- 
 ferences between them are not healed in all parts of the 
 world, as we have recently seen in the difficulties encounter- 
 ed by our late accomplished minister to Mexico, — Mr. Poin- 
 sett. Wherever Scots Masonry has been planted, its mem* 
 bers affect to despise the English, and will not listen to the? 
 prior claims of the latter. But in Scotland, as in England, 
 the early history of speculative^ is confounded with opera- 
 tive Masonry. Their earliest date is 710," at which period* 
 as I have already cited from Dr. Henry, their king sent 
 over to England for masons to build stone churches. They 
 claim their actual descent, as corporate or organized bodies 
 from the lodge of Kilwinnins:. Their trade was or^ranized bv 
 
112 LETTER IX. 
 
 corporation, in common with other trades in Scotland, for 
 the purpose of raising funds for the support of their poor, 
 sometime between the years 1520 and 1560. About the 
 year 1645, Wilham St. Clair, lord of Iloslin, was authori- 
 sed by the trade, to purchase and obtain from the king, " li- 
 " berty, freedom and jurisdiction over them, and their suc- 
 "cessors, in all times coming, as their patron and judge." 
 The grant was signed by William Shaw, master of the 
 work ; Thomas Wier, mason, of Edinburgh ; and Thomas 
 Robertson, warden of the lodge of Dumfermline and St. 
 Andrews, " with our hands laid on the pen, by the notary, 
 *' at our command, because we cannot write.'^ The masonic 
 courts continued to be held at Kilwinning under the direc- 
 tion of the vSinclairs of Roslin, until the year 1 736 — that is 
 to say, for the period of 1 06 years — during which time, as 
 Lawrie informs us. Masonry flourished, and many charters 
 and constitutions were granted. At the last mentioned pe- 
 riod, the earl of St. Clair resigned, and renounced his right 
 and title, by virtue of the grant of 1630, to the office of 
 " patron, protector, judge or master, of the Masons in Scot- 
 " land." A Grand Lodge w^as then organized, and the carl 
 was immediately chosen Grand Master. Speculative Ma- 
 sonry was then engrafted upon the order, and from that 
 period Freemasonry, as it is now universally understood, is 
 to be dated in Scotland. Kilwinning, however, continued 
 to grant charters, and gave the Grand Lodge some trouble, 
 as the York Masons did in the sister island. 
 
 But to return to England. At the moment of turning 
 my attention to the masonic history of Scotland, I had ar- 
 rived at a distinguishing landmark in its English history. I 
 refer to the memorable year of 1717, and the celebrated 
 meeting at the appletree tavern, of which so much has been 
 said by the Anti-masonic writers. 
 
 In the rapid glance I have taken of its antecedent his- 
 tory, I have aimed at touching only a few of its most pro** 
 
LETTER IX. lis 
 
 mineiit features, — purposely omitting all unnecessary de- 
 tails respecting the names of the kings, and prelates, and 
 nobles, and eminent artists, who are claimed to have been 
 its patrons and Grand Masters, as well as of the diflerent 
 eras during which the society was in prosperous or adverse 
 circumstances. It is of little importance to the subject of 
 the present inquiry, whether the society was depressed 
 during the wars of the roses, or whether, after a long and 
 lingering existence, it rose with the accession of the House 
 of Brunswick. Suffice it to say, that, whatever were the 
 vicissitudes it experienced, or whoever were its officers and 
 patrons, the Masonry of that period was a very different 
 affair from what it is now ; for it was only in this same year 
 of 1717, that it received its existing " form and pressure." 
 After its renovation in the reign of Anne, the society had 
 again declined, until there were but four lodges existing, in 
 which the ancient symbols and usages were preserved. A 
 meeting of members v/as held at the appletree tavern, in 
 London, at which it was resolved to change the essential 
 characteristics of the society, by relinquishing it as a school 
 of architecture, and moulding it into an association of 
 brotherly love and truth. The constitutions were remo- 
 delled in 1721, upon the basis of that of York ; and in 1723, 
 its charitable character was imparted to it by the Duke of 
 Buccleugh, who first suggested the raising of funds for the 
 relief of distressed Masons. It is not contended, however, 
 that at the before mentioned meeting of the four lodges, in 
 London, in 1717, to resuscitate and reorganize the order, it 
 at once assumed the form in which it has since been hand- 
 ed down. Its rites, and its mysteries, its ceremonies, and 
 its legends, had been gradually accumulating. But the ac- 
 count which, in his candor, Lawrence Dermott, secretary 
 of the London Grand Lodge, and author of the original 
 Ahiman Rezon, gives of the resuscitation, shows that there 
 
114 LETTER IX. 
 
 was a necessity for it, to keep the order Iroiii speedy extinc- 
 tion. He states, that, at the time mentioned, 1717, some 
 jolly companions of the fellow craft, met together, and re- 
 solved to form a lodge for themselves, endeavoring to recol- 
 lect, by conversation with each other, what jiSid formerly 
 been dictated to them, and •when they could not recollect, 
 they substituted something of their own, for the forgotten 
 matter. There was not one among them who could remem- 
 ber or perform the master's part, and they created it anew. 
 Some of the brethren objected to the continuance of the 
 aprons ; but the older members insisted that they should be 
 retained, since they were about the only signs of Masonry 
 then remaining among them. Such, says Dermott, was the 
 beginning of modern Masonry. 
 
 The earliest masonic procession took place in London, at 
 the installation of the Duke of Richmond as Grand Master, 
 June 24, 1724. They were now called " Free and Accept- 
 " ed Masons." \¥hy they were called free, we have seen, 
 in the freedom, compared with other trades, which the ear- 
 lier members of the craft enjoyed by virtue of indulgences 
 from the popes, and privileges granted them by the kings. 
 They were called accepted Masons, because, though not Ma- 
 sons in fact, they were, nevertheless, accepted as such. 
 The boasted mysteries of the order, originally meant no more 
 than the mysteries of any other trade. The " art and mys- 
 " tcry" of every trade, was a customary form of expression, 
 and is yet preserved in the indentures of apprentices to 
 every species of handicraft workmanship. 
 
 From this period, the institution has spread itself rapidly 
 over every part of the world where the English have form- 
 ed iutercourse. Into the United States, then the British 
 colonies, it was readily transplanted, as well as into the con- 
 tiguous nations of Europe, although the Roman CathoHc 
 See, and the absolute monarchs of Spain and Russia, have 
 
LETTER IX. 115 
 
 ever been strongly averse to it, and have made frequent ef- 
 forts for its extirpation. Travelling lodges have often 
 accompanied the British and French armies, and were fre- 
 quently held in the American army of the revolution. Some 
 of the chiefs of the- North American Indians, were created 
 Masons by the English ; and the British residents at Cairo, 
 as I have recently been informed by a valued friend, who 
 has a personal knowledge of the fact, have imparted their 
 masonic wisdom to the Sheiks and principal Arabs. Into 
 India, the order was introduced as early as 1770. In 1779, 
 Omrah Bahauder, the eldest son of a distinguished nabob, 
 was made a Mason in the lodge of Trinchinopoly. The 
 news havinn^ been transmitted to the Grand Lodffe in En<?- 
 land, officially, a letter of congratulation was sent to him, 
 by a noble hand. It was answered by a letter written by 
 the young nabob, upon vellum, in the Persian character, und 
 enveloped in gold cloth. This letter has been framed and 
 hung up among the decorations of the lodge. But the 
 more the order has been extended, the less intimate has 
 become the connexion of the lodges ; secessions have 
 taken place ; new systems have been established ; rivalry 
 has often occurred ; to the first three degrees of apprentice, 
 companion, and master, additional ones have been added ; 
 until, in fact, it would be a difficult matter to give a general 
 character of Masons, in various states and countries ; — so 
 numerous are their lodges ; so dissimilar their degrees, and 
 so various their characters. 
 
 There can be no necessity, however, for continuing these 
 historical sketches, in their particular incidents, through the 
 last fifty years ; during which period, English Masonry has 
 in all places where it existed, been much the same. Allow 
 jne, therefore, to draw this branch of my subject to a close. 
 I have the honor, sir, to remain, 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, (fee. 
 
116 LETTER y. 
 
 LETTER X. • 
 
 New- York, Jan. 20, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 Freemasonry has enough to answer for, without being 
 in anywise burdened with false accusations, the offspHng of 
 ignorance, or prejudice ; or of wilful calumny. I must 
 therefore crave your indulgence, sir, for a short time, before 
 closing this first branch of these investigations, while I re- 
 pel one of the most serious charges that have been prefer- 
 red against it. I mean that of christian infidelity. This is 
 an accusation I have often heard made, as well before, as 
 since, the fatal occurrence which has caused the particular 
 excitement against the masonic order. And when combat- 
 ting the calumny, as I have frequently done, it has often 
 been gravely asserted, by intelligent men, and even by learn- 
 ed divines, that all its emblems had been artfully devised, 
 by wicked men, in forms leaving them susceptible, at one 
 and the same time, of double significations ; and all its lan- 
 guage, in the same manner, by some hidden cabalistic ar- 
 rangement, made to bear a double interpretation ; — so that, 
 while in the apprehension of virtuous men, the apparent ex- 
 planations and readings, inculcated principles of the strict- 
 est morahty, and the most beautiful precepts of charity, in 
 their true meaning, they were, in reality, nothing less than 
 the darkest and most impious lessons of infidelity. But, 
 notwithstanding the fact, that many disbelievers in the doc- 
 trines of the christian religion, have unfortunately been 
 admitted as members ; notwithstanding the laxity of morals 
 on the part of others ; and notwithstanding, also, the objec- 
 tionable forms of the obligations, the charge is unqualified- 
 
LETTER X. 117 
 
 ly, and in all respects, untrue. Indeed, so utterly unfounded 
 is the accusation, and so directly to the contrary is the fact, 
 with respect to every degree with which I am acquainted, 
 that I cannot but flatter myself its falsity has been rendered 
 evident in the course of the preceding expositions, — none of 
 which, by the way, have hitherto been written with imme- 
 diate reference to this point of the discussion. The idea of 
 the double readings, and the double and directly opposite 
 interpretations of the emblems and symbols used in the work- 
 ing of the lodges, is too preposterous to require a grave 
 refutation. And if I had not actually heard the objection 
 seriously made, and its truth as seriously contended for, by 
 reverend divines of no ordinary reputation, I should have 
 supposed it must require an Uncommon degree of credulity 
 in any one, to believe even in the existence of such an opin- 
 ion. The thing is in itself impossible. 
 
 Nor do I apprehend it will appear very probable, in the 
 eyes of most men, that in the very first step of an infidel in- 
 stitution, the initiate would be presented with the bible, as 
 translated " by order of the most high and mighty prince 
 " James," with a pledge that he receives it as the " rule and 
 " guide of his faith and practice." The bible is accompanied 
 by the square and compasses, and the charge is in the fol- 
 lowing words : — " The Holy Writings, that great light in 
 ^' Masonry, will guide you to all truth ; it will direct your 
 *' path to the temple of happiness, and point out to you the 
 " whole duty of man. The square teaches us to regulate 
 " our actions by rule and line, and to harmonize our conduct 
 " by the principles of morality and virtue. The compasses 
 " teach us, properly, to circumscribe our views and desires 
 " in every station ; that rising thus to eminence by merit, 
 " we may live respected, and die regretted." Really, sir, it 
 strikes me, that it would be a most extraordinary procedure, 
 for a club of infidels, to attempt building up and sustaining 
 a perpetual association of infidel men, upon such a founda- 
 
118 LETTER X. 
 
 tion. The Bible ! — the book of books, — the Hvely oracles 
 of the Most High, — the revelation of his will to man, — the 
 humble christian's richest treasure, — containing, as it does, 
 those divine rules of conduct, and those precious promises, 
 on which alone he builds his hopes of a blessed immortality, 
 in a world of light, and life, and glory: — The Bible ! — the ob- 
 ject of the infidel's scorn and dread, — containing as it does, 
 the awful threatenings of God's vengeance upon the evil- 
 doers : — surely it will not be contended that such a book 
 has been selected as the basis of a society of unbelievers ! 
 Had it, on the contrary, been " The Age of Reason^^ which 
 the speculative Mason received as the ground-work of his 
 religion, and the basis of his morals ; and had the blasphe- 
 mies of Voltaire and Lalande been prescribed as their text- 
 books, instead of the moral lessons and allegories of which 
 I have spoken in the preceding letters, the case would have 
 been far different — but scarcely worse than it has been re- 
 presented. 
 
 Again : not only has the institution been charged with 
 infidelity in general, — that is, with a universal disbelief in 
 things holy and sacred, — but the specific charge of Deism, 
 and a disbelief in the divine mission of the Saviour of Men, 
 has been predicated of the order, by those, who, probably, 
 would not be quite so uncharitable as to accuse it of down- 
 right Atheism. But, here again, I stand ready to meet our 
 accusers at the threshhold, and plead the general issue.' I 
 have already, in the exposition of the Templar's degree, 
 shown that in the orders of knighthood, a belief in the Sa- 
 viour, is an essential pre-requisite ; and, consequently, that 
 neither Jew, Turk, nor infidel, can become participators in 
 those degrees. 
 
 It is true, however, that from the circumstance that what 
 is called ancient Masonry, is derived from traditions and 
 historical incidents, supposed to be connected with the old 
 testament dispensation, the belief in the identity of God the 
 
LETTER X. 119 
 
 Father and the Son, is not specifically required ; yet the 
 symbols and emblems of every degree, from the first to the 
 seventh inclusive, point to, and distinctly indicate, a belief 
 in the doctrine of the Trinity. Among these emblems, in 
 the very first degree, is the blazing star, in commemoration 
 of the STAR IN THE EAST, which appeared to guide the wise 
 men to the place of the nativity of the Messiah. In former 
 times, lodges and chapters were dedicated to king Solomon ; 
 but latterly, they have been dedicated, either to John the 
 Baptist, or the Evangelist, " because they were christians^* 
 And although in the general lectures upon the lower orders, 
 it has been usual to charge the initiates, as they proceeded 
 from step to step, to adhere to those essentials of religion 
 in which all men agree — leaving each individual to exercise 
 his own private judgment as to creeds and forms, — yet it 
 is expressly enjoined in the lecture on the " temper and 
 " qualities requisite in those who would be Freemasons," 
 that they " cannot tread in the irreligious paths of the un- 
 ** happy LIBERTINE, the deist, or the stupid atheist." Nor 
 is this all : in the first prayer of the first degree, the aid of 
 the Almighty is invoked, that the candidate " may devote 
 " his life to his service," that he may be the better " ena- 
 " bled to display the beauties of virtuousness to the honor of 
 *' THY holy name." Another prayer for the same degree, 
 has the following passages : — " Most holy and glorious God ! 
 ** the great architect of the universe ; the giver of all good 
 *' gifts and graces ; thou hast promised that ' where two or 
 ** * three are gathered together in thy name, thou wilt be in 
 " ' the midst of them and bless them.' " And " we beseech 
 " thee, O Lord God, to illumine our minds through the in- 
 " fiuence of the sun of righteousness, that we may walk 
 *< in the light of thy countenance," &c. One of the prayers 
 for the opening of the Royal Arch degree, concludes in 
 
 * Vide Ahiman Rezon^ New-York ed., 1 804. 
 
120 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 these words : — " This we most humbly beg, in the Namb 
 
 " AND FOR THE SAKE OF JeSUS ChRIST OUR LoRD AND Sa* 
 
 " viouR." In another place, the Saviour is recognized in 
 the significant title apph'ed to him by the prophet Daniel — 
 " The Ancient of Days."* In short, sir, I might multiply 
 proofs and authorities, of the same description, to an inde- 
 finite extent. But I imagine that enough has been said upon 
 this point. If the facts here stated, do not amply vindicate 
 the order from the accusations to which I have adverted, I 
 must confess my lack of knowledge as to what would be 
 considered competent testimony, and my want of ability to 
 execute the task. But in any event, however much the in- 
 stitution may have been corrupted by bad, or misunder- 
 stood or misused by ignorant men, I trust I have succeeded 
 in showing, that good and pious men may very well have 
 joined the order, and retained their standing as members, 
 during their whole lives, without compromising their reli- 
 gious faith and principles, " though founded upon the pro- 
 " phets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
 " corner stone." I know that many such have been its mem- 
 bers, and that many such even yet continue attached to the 
 order, though I hope they will shortly be persuaded to re- 
 linquish it. They have been instructed " to practice out of 
 " the lodge, those duties which they have been taught within 
 '' it ;" they have labored by their amiable, discreet, and vir- 
 tuous conduct, to convince others of the goodness of the 
 institution — believing it to be one in which the burthcned 
 heart might pour out its sorrow^ to their brethren ; to 
 which distress might prefer its suit ; whose hands were 
 
 * And yet the Rev. Joel Parker, late of Rochester, and now of the city of 
 New- York, has certified in a letter, and stated from the pulpit, in a sermon 
 which has been printed, that "therehgions worship of masonry is pmcly 
 *' theistical." " Freemasonry," he says, "makes many prayers, but they are 
 " prayers offered up without the acknowledgment of a Saviour." The rev- 
 erend gentleman could never have attended properly instructed masonic bo- 
 dies, or his memory has been treacherous ; or, he could never have investi- 
 gated the subject. 
 
LETTER X. 121 
 
 ^guided by justice, and the hearts of whose members were 
 expanding with benevolence. These, having received the 
 holy scriptures as " the rule and guide of their faith and 
 " practice," have endeavored to acquit themselves with re- 
 putation and honor, and sought to lay up for themselves a 
 crown of rejoicing which would endure when time shall be 
 no more.* To these individuals, of pure and honest mo- 
 tives, — of worthy and honorable conduct, — whose charity 
 " white as the angel's wing," thinketh no evil, — it may seem 
 marvellous that I add my conviction, that, notwithstanding 
 all which can be said in favor of the order, by the most un- 
 prejudiced and impartial men ; — that, although I do not 
 believe the principles of the institution to be of themselves 
 immoral or irreligious ; — that, although I do not believe it 
 was ever contemplated that the laws and obligations of Ma- 
 sonry should come into collision with the laws of the land ; — • 
 that, although I do not believe the great body of the Free- 
 masons of our country, had any previous knowledge of, or 
 participation in, the great masonic crime of the west ;- — and 
 thar, although I do not believe that the Morgan conspirators 
 have any of them been tried or punished for deeds which 
 they were compelled by the terms or tenor of the laws of 
 Masonry to commit ; — yet, I say, notwithstanding all these 
 considerations, and maugre all that can be said in its favor, 
 I am fully persuaded, after much examination and reflec- 
 tion, that, upon its own merits, and independently altogether 
 of the events that have transpired since the summer of 1826, 
 
 THE ORDER OP SPECULATIVE FrEEMASONRY OUGHT FOREVER 
 
 TO BE RELINQUISHED. To tliis couclusiou I havc arrived 
 from the following considerations, among a variety of oth- 
 ers that might be enumerated, viz : — 
 
 I. The main superstructure, in its history and traditions, 
 and its pretensions, (in its present organization,) to antiquity, 
 
 ♦ Vide charge to the master, at the installation of a lodge, 
 
 16 
 
122^ LETTER X. 
 
 is founded, to a very considerable degi'ee, in fraud and im- 
 posture : — 
 
 II. Its rites and ceremonies are puerile and frivolous, — 
 altogether beneath the dignity, and unw^orthy of the atten- 
 tion, of enhghtened and educated men : it is vastly behind 
 the age : — 
 
 III. From its inutility : At the present period, when know- 
 ledge and civilization have taught the nerves to vibrate to 
 the touch of sympathy, and when the diffusion of Christiani- 
 ty has so widely cultivated the graces of philanthropy and 
 benevolence, men do not require an accumulation of barba- 
 rously-constructed oaths, to compel them to practise the 
 social duties, and the moral and charitable virtues : — 
 
 IV. From its inutility in another respect : In an age and 
 country like this, where the freedom of speech is uncheck- 
 ed ; where opinion is as free as the air we breathe, and 
 where all are dwelling in the broad blaze of religious light, 
 symbolic representations, and allegorical emblems, can be 
 of little use in imparting ethical instruction, or the science 
 of theology, to adults, of either sex : — 
 
 V. Its legality may well be questioned : All extra-judicial 
 oaths are uncalled for, and improper, if not contrary to the 
 spirit of the civil law^s. The divine command is — " swear 
 NOT AT all" : 
 
 VI. Attendance upon its calls and its duties, occasions a 
 great waste of time. JNo instruction is given in the lodge- 
 room, now-a-days, whatever may have been the fact in times 
 past, either in literature ; or in the arts ; or in the exact sci- 
 ences. The frequent meetings of lodges, w^hich are general- 
 ly connected with public houses, is very liable, moreover^ 
 to beget idleness and dissipation, especially among the 
 weaker brethren : — 
 
 VII. There is a growing jealousy among the people, of 
 secret societies, their character and influence ; and there 
 
LETTER XI. 123 
 
 have been more reasons than one, to warrant that jea- 
 lousy : — : 
 
 VIII. If the institution has been abused, — if evils have 
 resuhed from it, — the same abuses, and the Hke evils, may 
 proceed from it again. 
 
 These reasons, to my mind, are abundantly sufficient to 
 sustain my proposition : but, if there be any vi^ho think 
 otherwise, there are other reasons at hand, of infinitely 
 higher moment, not only rendering such a measure proper 
 in itself, but demanding the dissolution of the institution 
 in a voice potent as thunder. This fact, as I trust, will 
 be made most satisfactorily to appear, in the history that is 
 to follow. 
 
 With respectful consideration, I am, te. 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 New- York, Jan. 25, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 In the pleasant and flourishing village of Batavia, the 
 shire town of Genesee county, in this state, resided, in the 
 years 1825-26, a man by the name of WILLIAM MOR- 
 GAN. Perhaps it would be more proper to speak of 
 him as " a sojourner" in Batavia, " and the region round 
 -*' about," rather than as a permanent resident. As this Wil- 
 liam Morgan was the victim of the dark tragedy which is 
 to form tiie subject of the following narrative, and is cer- 
 tainly destined to live in history, for a length of time little 
 anticipated by those who most foully made way with him, 
 some preliminary account of his life and character may nat- 
 urally be expected. I have exerted myself not a little to 
 procure information upon both points. Of the former, how- 
 ever, little can be ascertained. Respecting the latter, more 
 
124 LETTER XI. 
 
 can be said than will do good to his memory. But I shall 
 " drag his frailties from their dread abode," no farther than is 
 necessary to the just and impartial accompHshment of the 
 present history. 
 
 Morgan's last place of residence, previously to his ap- 
 pearance in Genesee county — for it was in Le Roy, a vil- 
 lage some twelve or fifteen miles distant from Batavia, that 
 he first made a halt — was Rochester. He was a native of 
 Culpepper county, Va., where he was born in 1775 or 1776. 
 Of his life, down to the time of his appearance in Roches- 
 ter, as I have already intimated, but little is known. Ma- 
 ny stories have been put into circulation respecting him, as 
 'well by those who have thought it expedient to apotheosize 
 him for the advancement of their political purposes, as by 
 those other individuals, who may have supposed that his 
 blood would leave a lighter stain in their skirts, if they 
 could induce the public to believe him to havd been unwor- 
 thy of the life that was taken away by treachery and vio- 
 lence. Thus, on the one hand, he has been extolled as a 
 man of virtuous habits and principles, who had borne a 
 captain's commission in the army, of which he had proved 
 himself worthy, in sundry engagements in the southern 
 campaigns of the late war wdth Great Britain, particularly 
 in the signal achievement with which that contest was clo- 
 sed, at New-Orleans. On the other, it has been represent- 
 ed that he was a pirate in the gulf of Mexico, during the 
 greater i)art of the v^^ar ; — that he w^as one of the celebrated 
 gang of Lafitte, infesting the Delta of the Mississippi, whose 
 principal rendezvous was upon the island of Barataria ; — 
 and, being a favorite of that daring freebooter, w^as some- 
 times entrusted with the command of separate vessels in 
 their desperate service. These pirates, you will recollect, 
 were pardoned by president Madison, on the eve of the bat- 
 tle of New-Orleans, in which brilliant affair they were re- 
 ported to have done excellent service. From thence, as thg 
 
LETTER XI. 125 
 
 same class of reports inform us, Morgan returned to Vir- 
 ginia, where he led a dissolute Ufe until the year 1819; 
 when, it is added, that, with the assistance of a gang of 
 reckless associates, he took the young girl of sixteen, who 
 subsequently became his wife — Miss Lucinda Pendleton — 
 by force from beneath her father's roof. To none of these 
 relations do I attach the least credit or importance. The 
 narrative of his military career, is understood to be one of 
 those idle tales which designing men have found it conveni- 
 ent to usher forth to the public, in aid of their own sinister 
 designs. The statement of his having been attached to the 
 pirate-gang of Lafitte, in the absence of the least evidence 
 of the fact, may be set down as a calumny, added to the 
 guilt of murder ; — while the story of the abduction of his 
 wife is of the same infamous character. Other reports, 
 cruel as the grave, touching the honor of the lady, were put 
 into circulation by men who had deprived her of a husband ; 
 but those generous friends who espoused her cause, and 
 sought so diligently to vindicate the majesty of the laws, 
 took prompt means to wipe from her character the foul im- 
 putation ; and the legal evidence of her marriage, under a 
 license from the court of Washington county, (Va.) was ob- 
 tained, and published in the spring of 1827. The simple 
 fact is, that Morgan, by his own confession, was a private 
 soldier in the army, and nothing more. In giving an ac- 
 count of his military career, he stated that he was in " most 
 ^* of the battles south of the Potomac." He did not particu- 
 larise, nor did he ever mention, as I am most credibly in- 
 formed, the battle before New-Orleans, as one of the scenes 
 of his own exploits. These facts are derived from an im- 
 partial source — from a gentleman in whose employ Mor- 
 gan was once engaged. They were obtained from his own 
 lips, and are therefore to be received as true, so far as tlie 
 principal is to be credited as a witness in his own behalL 
 
126 LETTER XI. 
 
 Morgan was an operative mason by trade* Those who 
 have published favorable biographical sketches of his life, 
 assert, that, by an industrious application to his business, 
 in Virginia, he had accumulated a respectable property in 
 1819. It was in the autumn of that year, that he marri- 
 ed Miss Lucinda Pendleton, whose father, I am told, is, or 
 was, a respectable preacher, of the methodist episcopal 
 church. Two years from the period of his marriage, he re- 
 moved from Virginia, to York, in the province of Upper 
 Canada, where he was connected with a brewery. This 
 establishment being subsequently destroyed by fire, he re- 
 moved back again to the United States, and located himself 
 for a time at Rochester, where he labored at his former oc- 
 cupation, in the capacity of a journeyman. From Roches- 
 ter he removed to the county of Genesee. 
 
 In person Morgan was of middle stature, say five feet six 
 inches in height. His general appearance, for a man of low 
 circumstances in life, was rather prepossessing ; — a com- 
 pact and well turned person, with a high forehead, bald, and a 
 quick, intelligent, but sly and sinister-glancing eye. His 
 education had been nothing more than that received in a 
 common English school ; but he had added to his original 
 stock of learning by considerable reading ; and being a man 
 of quick intelligence, and rather acute observation, he was 
 enabled to pass as a sort of oracle amongst the lower class- 
 es of loungers in the precincts of village inns. Indeed, 
 whatever may have been his course of life previously to his 
 residence in Canada, his indolence, and his habits, after his 
 return, were such as very naturally to throw him into the 
 associations of such a circle. Although not exactly a com- 
 mon drunkard, to be which, according to certain legal de- 
 cisions in this state, it is required that a man must be in a state 
 of intoxication more than one half of the time, still he was 
 continually mingling " hot rebellious liquors with his blood;" 
 
LETTER XI. iSt 
 
 —his nights, and sometimes his days also, were spent at tip- 
 pling-houses ; while, occasionally, to the still greater neg- 
 lect of his family, he joined in the drunken carousals of the 
 vilest and most worthless of men. His disposition was en- 
 vious, malicious, and vindictive ; as I am assured by a very 
 estimable and pious man of Genesee county, in whose vera- 
 city I have the fullest confidence, and in whose employ 
 Morgan was at one period engaged. 
 
 Such, I have reason to believe, is a fair description of the 
 character of William Morgan. He was, withal, what is 
 termed, among the craft, " a bright Mason," — or rather, he 
 professed to be such ; for, as it will presently be seen, it has 
 been questioned whether he was a legitimate member of 
 the brotherhood. Be that as it may, however, he was a 
 very excellent proficient in all the wisdom of the three 
 primitive degrees of ancient Freemasonry. Too indolent 
 to dig, he nevertheless was not ashamed to beg — at least 
 from his masonic brethren, — and what his scanty earnings 
 lacked in affording him an indifferent and precarious sup- 
 port, was made up by masonic charities, — in devising means 
 to procure which, he was remarkably ingenious. It is one 
 of the faults of the institution, that it not unfrequently pro- 
 duces just such oracles of its wisdom — cunning and artful 
 men, having an air of the shabby-genteel ; — with col- 
 loquial powers rather above the ordinary range of uneduca- 
 ted persons ; — while, at the same time, it furnishes enough 
 of weaker brethren, to form a listening circle, sufficient in 
 numbers to add to the imaginary importance of the oracle, 
 and happy in the privilege of contributing to the temporal 
 wants of such travelling luminaries. 
 
 The original difficulties between Morgan and his mason^ 
 ic brethren of Genesee, sprung, as it is believed, from a 
 Combination of untov/ard circumstances. While residing 
 at Le Roy, transiently, or otherwise, he became intimately 
 associated with Maj. James Ganson, a man of respectable 
 
128 LETTER XI. 
 
 Standing, who had formerly been a member of our state Ic-^ 
 gislature, and also sherifT of Genesee county. It was 
 at Le Roy that Morgan was exalted to the degree of a Roy- 
 al Arch Mason, on the avouchment of Ganson, as to his 
 knowledge and skill in the preceding degrees. But it is 
 affirmed, that the brethren at the west could never ascertain 
 in what lodge, or w^hether in any, Morgan had commenced 
 his masonic career ; and some doubts arose whether he had 
 not, after all his boasted knowledge of the mysteries of the 
 order, succeeded in palming himself upon them as a true 
 mason, while in fact he was an impostor. At about the 
 same time, the masonic edifice, at Le Roy, for the accom- 
 modation of the Knights Templars, was projected. Upon 
 this building Morgan had a contract to labor, but, by some 
 means, he was disappointed, and mutual heart-burnings 
 upon this subject, followed between himself and Ganson. 
 
 Such was the posture of affairs at Le Roy, whence the 
 scene now shifts to Batavia, which had become Morgan's 
 more permanent place of residence. Here, another occur- 
 rence transpired, which at once placed " a great gulf be- 
 " tw^een" him and his brother Masons, and aroused his angry 
 feelings to the highest pitch of resentment. It was early in 
 the year 1826, that the few Royal Arch Masons of Bata- 
 via, determined to apply to the Grand Chapter of the state, 
 for a charter to constitute a chapter in that village. By 
 some means or other, contrary to the desire of the more 
 respectable portion of the applicants, the petition w-as pre- 
 sented to Morgan, who, as might have been expected, very 
 readily added his signature to the names already upon it. 
 In masonic usage, it is a matter of course that all the sign- 
 ers of an application for a lodge or chapter, become regu- 
 lar members, when such lodge or chapter is instituted. " So 
 " it is written in the bond." But Morgan's character had 
 now become so well understood, and his habits so bad, that 
 his association w*as not desired among the original promo^ 
 
LETTER XI. 129 
 
 ters of the object. They consequently destroyed the first 
 petition, and set another on foot secretly, by which the char- 
 ter was obtained ; and in which, on its arrival, Morgan 
 was surprised and mortified to find that his own name was 
 not inserted. He could now become an associate only by 
 the unanimous consent of the more fortunate members ; and 
 as that consent could not be obtained, he was of course 
 excluded. Stung with rage at this treatment from his 
 "companions," it is presumed that he was not long inform- 
 inor resolutions of reven<::ce. 
 
 There was another person who was an important actor 
 in the earlier stages of the Morgan business, whom it now 
 becomes necessary to introduce upon the stage. I allude to 
 Col. David C. Miller, then, as now, the editor of a village 
 paper published in Batavia. Miller was a man of respecta- 
 ble talents, but of irreligious character, great laxity of moral 
 principle, and of intemperate habits ; which latter, however, 
 I have since heard, with great satisfaction, have been re- 
 formed. His conduct had alienated his best and most sub- 
 stantial political friends, and a rival newspaper had just 
 been established by his old political associates, at about the 
 time of Morgan's removal to that place. These circum- 
 stances had occasioned Miller great pecuniary and political 
 depression ; and there was little of moral principle to deter 
 him from embarking in any enterprise affording a promise 
 of retrieving his declining fortunes. Miller had many years 
 before taken the entered apprentice's degree, in Albany — 
 and this was all he knew of Masonry. But a similarity of 
 tastes and habits had brought him and Morgan into the re- 
 lations of intimate association, and it was but natural that 
 they should discourse to each other of their private griefs. 
 Morgan had commenced writing something upon the sub- 
 ject of Freemasonry, for what purpose it is not known, as 
 early as the winter or spring of 1825. He was at a mason- 
 ic hotel in this city^ for a short time, in the course of that 
 
 17 
 
130 LETTER XI. 
 
 year, and was olteii closeted with a man of considerable 
 talents, and some scholarship, who had been expelled from 
 the fraternity the preceding year, for a breach of his ma- 
 sonic faith, in writing and exhibiting certain masonic mat- 
 ters that were then supposed to be unwritten. Parts of his 
 manuscripts had been shown by Morgan to his friends, be- 
 fore the occurrence of the difficulties I have specified, and 
 before, as it was supposed, he had any idea of making the 
 publication ; although I strongly suspect that he purposed, 
 eventually, to betray the masonic secrets from the outset. 
 Such is the natural inference, from the character of his prin- 
 cipal associate, during his visit to this city ; and while here, 
 he was urgent in his inquiries of a masonic acquaintance of 
 mine, as to the place of residence of a masonic brother some- 
 where in New- Jersey, where, or of whom, as he said, he 
 hoped to obtain a more perfect knowledge of the higher de- 
 grees. Be that, however, as it may, after his rejection from 
 the new Batavia chapter, in the manner above related, he 
 was suddenly transformed from an ardent and zealous friend 
 of the masonic institution, into its public, determined, and 
 inveterate foe ; and, having become possessed of the fact oi" 
 the existence of his manuscripts. Miller at once conceived 
 the idea of turning them to their mutual pecuniary advan- 
 tage. This was his first and only object, naturally suggest- 
 ed by his increasing wants, and by a stock of principle only 
 proportioned to his interest. Morgan's imaginary wrongs, 
 granting even that he had not before contemplated making 
 the disclosures, made him a willing listener to propositions 
 artfully made. Thus the bargain was struck ; partners 
 were enlisted who were to furnish the means of publishing 
 the book, and to share the profits ; which, by Miller's own 
 subsequent confession, it was supposed would be very great. 
 I am, sir, with high respect, &c. 
 
LETTER XII. 131 
 
 LETTER XIL 
 
 New- York, Jan. 30, 1832, 
 Sir, 
 
 The design of Morgan to publish a full disclosure of 
 the secret rites and ceremonies of Freemasonry, and hm 
 partnership, for that purpose, with Miller and others, w^ere 
 soon known to the public. In fact the intended publication 
 was announced openly, and without disguise, early in the 
 summer of 1826. Little attention, however, was paid to 
 the subject for some weeks. The more respectable and in- 
 telligent portion of the fraternity gave no heed to it ; — others 
 supposed the project was merely to supply travelling chap- 
 men with an additional stock of marvels ; — whilst others, 
 yet, believed that should* any publication be made, it would 
 fall still-born from the press, attracting no more attention, 
 and commanding no more confidence, than did the neglect- 
 ed book known by the title of "Jachin and Boaz." By de- 
 grees, however, some little agitation began to disclose itself 
 by whispers, and low murmurs, and occasional movements 
 among " the lesser lights" of Masonry. But these move- 
 ments, however slight at first, like the gentle currents of air 
 that, before a tempest, at first scarcely rustle among the 
 leaves of the forest, which is doomed speedily to bend and 
 break before its violence? were the precursors of a storm, that 
 Jias swept with wild and desolating power over a wide por- 
 tion of our country, and which it may yet require years to 
 allay. Day after day the uneasiness among the brotherhood 
 was observed to increase ; and the circle of those persons 
 manifesting their ill-concealed restlessness and apprehen* 
 
13& LETTER XII. 
 
 sion, was continually extending its circumference. These- 
 symptoms were exactly what the projectors of the work 
 most desired. Should the book be ushered forth unoppo- 
 sed, and unnoticed, no faith would be placed in its contents, 
 and few sales would reward the pubhshers. But the mo- 
 tnent it should become evident to the community, that the 
 Masons themselves were seriously opposed to the book, 
 they could but perceive that the curiosity of the public 
 would be irresistable, and the demand for the work unlimi- 
 ted. Threats at length began to be heard in whispers, that 
 the Masons were determined, by some means, to suppress 
 the book ; and discussions concerning the matter were 
 most injudiciously admitted into the newspapers ; — thereby 
 contributing to quicken the kindling flame, and causing ma- 
 ny more of Miller's subscribers to withdraw from the sup- 
 port of his paper. 
 
 It was at about this stage of the difficulty, that, as it is be- 
 lieved a negotiation, was entered into between the Masong 
 and Morgan. They had some conferences, and strongly 
 expostulated with him against the course he was pursuing. 
 Morgan appeared to relent in his purposes, but complained 
 of being so connected with Miller, that he found it difficult 
 to extricate himself. The result of these negotiations, 
 was, that Morgan apparently fepentcd of his design, and 
 agreed to suppress the proposed publication ; and he even 
 went so far as to deliver up his manuscripts, protesting that 
 those which he surrendered, embraced the whole. In a 
 short time afterwards, however, it was ascertained that 
 Morgan had been doubly treacherous ; and that, while he 
 pretended honestly to relinquish his purpose, and give up 
 bis papers, he had deceived them with imperfect draughts, 
 and fragments of copies, while the copy prepared for pub- 
 lication, was, at the very time, in the possession of Millen- 
 who was then proceeding witii the work. 
 
LETTER XII. 13S 
 
 Connected with the last-mentioned feature of the transac- 
 tions under review, wxre certain advertisements respecting 
 Morgan, which appeared in sundry newspapers, and of 
 which great use has been made by the anti-masonic party. 
 Morgan, as I have intimated in tiie preceding letter, was in 
 the habit of visiting his masonic brethren, in the principal vil- 
 lages of that section of country, and living much of the time 
 upon their friendly bounty. He had l-een to Canandaiguaj 
 a few months before the period of w^iich I am now writing ; 
 and among the first consequences of the deception he had 
 practised, in pretending to surrender his manuscripts, was 
 an advertisement in one of the Canandaigua papers, in the 
 words following : — " Notice and caution. If a man calling 
 " himself William Morgan should intrude himself on the 
 " community, they should be on their guard, particularly 
 *' the masonic fraternity. Morgan was in this village in 
 " May last, and his conduct, while here, and elsewhere, calls 
 " forth this notice. Any information, in relation to Morgan, 
 " can be obtained by calling at the masonic hall in this vil- 
 *' lage. Brethren and companions are particularly request- 
 " ed to observe, mark, and govern themselves accordingly. 
 " Morgan is considered a swindler, and a dangerous man. 
 *' There are people in this village who would be glad to see 
 " this Capt. Morgan. Canaiidaigua, Aug, 9, 1826." This 
 notice was copied into the Batavia papers with great alacri- 
 ty ; and, in a very short time afterwards, a paragraph, of 
 similar import, was inserted in the paper published at Black 
 Rock, with an additional statement, that the fraternity had 
 " amply provided" themselves against Morgan's impostures, 
 and his swindling propensities. Great pains have been 
 taken to create an impression, that both publications were 
 written in view of the arrangements then making for the 
 tragic event which followed. But such, I am free to assert, 
 and I do it with all confidence, was not the fact. And si- 
 though it is an interruption to the regular progress of the 
 
134 LETTER XII. 
 
 transactions which now begin to accumulate on liiy hands^ 
 still, justice requires that these publications should be pla- 
 ced in their proper light ; and this feature of the subject 
 may as well be disposed of here, as elsewhere. The charge 
 of Morgan's being an impostor, was founded upon the sus- 
 picion of Maj. Ganson, and others, that he was not a true 
 Mason in the first three degrees, and had therefore obtained 
 his exaltation to the higher orders, by fraudulent represen- 
 tations. That of being a swindler, rested upon the fact 
 which will more prominently appear presently, viz : the 
 borrowing, by Morgan, of some wearing apparel at Canan- 
 daigua, which he did not return. The masonic caution 
 near the close of the advertisement, has no peculiar or dan- 
 gerous signification, as has been alledged ; and the whole 
 paragraph, is, in truth, and in fact, nothing more than a re- 
 gular masonic advertisement, such as "have been common, 
 time immemorial, to put the brethren on their guard against 
 unworthy and expelled members. Still more, however, has 
 been made of the Black Rock publication, particularly in 
 consequence of the w^ords " amply provided." From this 
 phrase it has been industriously argued, that provision for 
 the murder of Morgan had even thus early been made ; 
 whereas, at this period, there is no reason whatever to sup- 
 pose, that any measure which should result in Morgan's 
 personal harm, had been even remotely contemplated. But 
 so much use has been made of the paragraph referred to, 
 that I have taken especial pains to investigate the whole 
 matter. The result is, to me, perfectly satisfactory. I 
 know the author of that publication well ; and equally well 
 do I know him to be utterly incapable of countenancing an 
 unlawful transaction involving moral guilt. The facts are 
 simply these : — The author of the paragraph in question, 
 took up his residence at Buffalo, in 1822. He was in the 
 habit of scribbling articles for the Buffalo and Black Rock 
 papers ; but, although a Mason, neither had he before, the 
 
LETTER XIl. 135 
 
 Morgan outrage, nor has he since been in the habit of visiting 
 the lodges there. This gentleman had seen the Canandaigua 
 advertisement, but knew nothing further of Morgan, than 
 that he was represented as a man who was travelling about 
 the country, and sponging a living from members of the 
 fraternity. An erroneous article had been published in the 
 Black Rock Gazette, and the paragraph under considera- 
 tion was written to correct it. He took the paragraph to 
 the office in his own hand ; the chirography was not dis- 
 guised ; the authorship was never questioned, or denied ; 
 nor was the paragraph itself arraigned as breathing a threat 
 of murder, until the gentleman, many months afterwards, 
 became a partner in another paper, which was in opposi- 
 tion to the anti-masonic party. It was then, only, that he 
 was assailed, as having spoken daggers, although it had 
 been merely his intention to say, that, by unmasking an un- 
 worthy pretender, the fraternity had " amply provided" 
 against his future extortions from those whose bounty he 
 had claimed as a brother. The author knew nothing of the 
 outrages against Morgan's person, until after they had 
 been perpetrated ; and granting even that the intentions 
 of the Masons of Batavia, whatever they at first might 
 have been, were known in the lodge of Buffalo, this gentle- 
 man, from his entire neglect of masonic affairs, would hard- 
 ly have been consulted, or in any manner advised in the 
 premises. The editor of the paper in which the note was 
 published, moreover, was not a Mason ; and it is absurd to 
 suppose that a writer who was plotting murder, would 
 have selected such a channel to throw out his signals. 
 
 The mutterins^s of the storm beffan shortlv to be heard at 
 a lesser and still a lesser distance. The Masons were ob- 
 served to assemble in clusters, as though in anxious consul- 
 tation. Miller was vexatiously prosecuted for sundry small 
 debts, and the collection forced with unusual harshness, 
 Tlureats were darkly Iiintcd, that the mtended publication. 
 
136 LETTER XII. 
 
 should at all events be suppressed ; and Miller, becoming 
 actually alarmed for his own personal safety, or aifecting 
 to be so, took measures for defending himself in the event 
 of an assault. Morgan himself was likewise harrassed by 
 the law ; and it appears that there were actual demands 
 against him, justifying recourse to this last expedient for the 
 collection of debts. He had recently been prosecuted in 
 the Supreme Court, for a heavy debt owing in Rochester, 
 and execution being issued, was bailed upon the goal limits 
 by Nahum Loring and Orange Allen. In the midst of the 
 excitement moreover which was now growing up in the vil- 
 lage, (i. e. on the 25th of July, 1826,) he was committed to 
 the custody of the sheriff of Genesee, at the suit of Nathan 
 Follett, and was again bailed upon the limits. These latter 
 circumistances, sir, will probably strike you as being alto- 
 gether unimportant in a narrative like the present. In them- 
 selves they are so ; but they will nevertheless be found to 
 have important bearings in the sequel. A variety of schemes 
 were now on foot to arrest the progress of the dreaded 
 work, and among these, in order in some way to extort the 
 surrender of his manuscripts, was the device of entangling 
 the author in the meshes of the law, as the spider involves 
 the struggling fly in the perplexities of his web. Another 
 plan was, to circumvent both author and publisher, by pro- 
 curing an artful accomplice to insinuate himself into their 
 confidence, so far as to become a partner ; by which means, 
 it was presumed, he would be able, at some stage of the 
 work, eflbctually to destroy it. Such an instrument w^s 
 found in the person of a man calhng himself Daniel Johns, 
 for whom they sent a long distance into Canada, at the ex- 
 pense, as it subsequently appeared, of the encampment at 
 Rochester. On his arrival in Batavia, Johns put up at a hotel. 
 Being a man of plausible address, and great cunning, he suc- 
 ceeded in ingratiating himself into Miller's confidence, and 
 having plenty of money to advance in the enterprise, he 
 
LETTER Xll. 137 
 
 was received as a partner, and into full confidence. Gan- 
 son seems to have been the employer and instigator of 
 Johns. But his success in destroying the papers, does not 
 appear to have been complete ; although during their ope- 
 rations, Ganson boasted that he had spirited av^^ay a part of 
 the copy, and left the work in such a condition that Miller 
 could not proceed with it. 
 
 Morgan, with his family, was boarding at this time, in the 
 compact part of the village of Batavia ; but for the double 
 purpose of security and retirement, while engaged in com- 
 posing his book, he occupied an upper room by himself, in the 
 house of a Mr. David, in a distant and less public part of 
 the town. On the 18th of August, while engaged in his 
 place of retirement, three persons, named Johnson Good- 
 will, Kelsey Stone, and John Wilson, residents of the vil- 
 lage, but holding no official situations, in company with the 
 constable of the town of Pembroke, fourteen miles distant, 
 named Daniel H. Dana, came to the house of David, for 
 whom they at Mrst inquired ; but no sooner had they enter- 
 ed upon the premises, than they rushed up into Morgan's 
 apartment, where he was then engaged in writing, and 
 seized upon his person by virtue of an execution, together 
 with all the papers there to be found. Morgan was instant- 
 ly hurried oif to prison, without being allowed a moment's 
 time to procure bail for the liberties ; — the sheriff, who had 
 been observed hovering near at the time of the arrest, join- 
 ing the party, and vv^alking with tiiem to the prison. This 
 was of a Saturday afteraoon ; and as a matter of course, 
 unless Morgan should procure bail before the commence- 
 ment of vSunday, he would be compelled to remain in close 
 confinement, until Monday. No sooner, however, liad the 
 prisoner's ftiends heard of his arrest, than they came for- 
 ward to procure his enlargement by bailing him out. But 
 from the moment the key was turned, until after 12 o'clock 
 
 at niQ:ht, Vv^hea it had become too late to transact secuistv 
 
 18 
 
IBB LETTER XII. 
 
 business, neither the sheriii'nor the jailor could be found, 
 although every possible exertion was made for that purpose. 
 In the absence of both these officers, there was of course no 
 one present who could let the olTending debtor to bail. Ear- 
 ly in the evening of the same day, Goodwill, and the con- 
 stable Dana, together with Mr. Thomas M'CuUy, the credi- 
 tor at whose suit Morgan was now in prison, proceeded to 
 the boarding house of the latter, and entered the apartment 
 of Mrs. Morgan, which was in the second story, and de- 
 manded if there w^ere any property to satisfy the execution. 
 Mrs. M. protested that they had nothing. The creditor 
 then went below ; but the officer, with Goodwill, pretending 
 not to be satisfied, commenced a general search, tumbling 
 over trunks and boxes, and examining whatever papers and 
 letters came in their way. Finding one small trunk con- 
 taining a few papers, they seized upon and carried it off, — 
 assuring Mrs. M. that should they find any papers therein 
 of consequence to her husband, they would be returned. 
 While, however, these people were thus employed above 
 stairs, a confession escaped the hps of the creditor below., 
 which at once establishes the foul nature of this whole trans- 
 action, — proving it, beyond question, to have been the com- 
 mencement of that series of abuses of the civil law, which 
 have since so repeatedly occurred, in connexion, more or 
 less direct, with this subject. M'Cully then and there ad- 
 mitted, to a young woman in the house, that, although he 
 should like well enough to find property sufficient to satisfy 
 his debt ; yet, " he cared not so much about that, as he did 
 " to get some papers belonging to Morgan." On finding- 
 one of the trunks locked, and being told the name of the 
 owner, he said " he did not wish that to be examined, as the 
 " owner was a Royal Arch Mason." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to comment on the total illegality 
 of this latter transaction. Having the. body of the debtor in 
 custody on final process, the debt was satisfied in the eye of 
 
LETTER XII. 139 
 
 the law ; and the vdiole proceeding, as related to the seizure 
 of the property, was a flagrant trespass, for which all the 
 parties concerned were liable to prosecution, and the con- 
 stable to punishment. But it must be admitted here, that 
 it was all worse than a trespass from the beginning, 
 
 Morgan remained in prison, of necessity, until Monday, 
 when he was admitted to bail. During Sunday, he was 
 visited by many of the Masons who were interesting them- 
 selves to induce him to relinquish the publication of their 
 mysteries. But no particulars of their conferences, so far 
 as 1 am informed, have transpired. There can be little 
 doubt, however, that the sole and entire object of this whole 
 proceeding, was to coerce their prisoner into a sm-render 
 of his all-important manuscripts. It was for this purpose, 
 and none other, that the execution had been issued ; that it 
 had been thus indecently served ; that the sheriff, and his 
 jailor, and the deputy, had disappeared, and remained in 
 concealment, until it became too late for Morgan to avail 
 himself, until another week, of the humane provision which 
 even a barbarous law has made for the comfort of those 
 who might otherwise remain forever immured within bolts 
 and bars, for the crime of indebtedness. In one .word, it 
 was a shameful prostitution of the forms of law, for the at- 
 tainment of a private purpose, w^hich, if forcibly accom- 
 plished, would also have been illegal. Failing in the first 
 object of their visit at Morgan's private roona, and also in 
 their search of his wife's apartment, time was wanting to 
 efiect their purpose in some other way. His confinement 
 in prison, might, peradventure, operate upon his fears. The 
 soft arts of persuasion, under such circumstances, might be 
 used with better effect. Or, if necessary, the harsher means 
 of intimidation might be resorted to, when the victim was 
 thus completely within their power. But neither threats 
 nor entreaties were found availing. 
 
 Accept, six, tlie assurances of my high regard. 
 
140 LETTER XIII, 
 
 LETTER XIll. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 1, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 During the fifteen or twenty days immediately suc- 
 ceeding the occurrences mentioned in my last letter, the ex- 
 citement continued rapidly to increase ; and the number of 
 strangers suddenly appearing and disappearing, at Batavia, 
 without apparently having any particular business in the 
 village, awakened unpleasant suspicions. Some further 
 publications were made in the newspapers, and among them 
 was an essay, on the 1st of September, intended, probably, 
 to allay the fever, by inducing the Masons to believe that there 
 was not the slightest danger of their favorite though unsubstan- 
 tial edifice being overturned — declaring that it had outlived 
 Thebes and Palmyra, Troy and Babylon, — and that neither 
 " the thunders of royal indignation," nor " the lightnings of 
 "popular fury," nor "ihe malice or treachery of man," could 
 shake its time-honored walls, which, sustained by " wisdom, 
 " strength and beauty," would stand until the last day of 
 doom, — or rather, to continue my quotation from the essay 
 itself, — despite of ail these, " it would endure till the last 
 " syllable of recorded time."* But it was all to no purpose. 
 It became daily more manifest that there was a growing 
 determination to suppress the intended publication, at any 
 
 * Brown's history of the excitement. Surely, in tlie essay to which I 
 have referred, the author could not have been any farther serious, than 
 in bis design to pacify his weaker brethren. If he really believed, him- 
 self^ what, lie said, the delusion must have left him before now. The 
 " ifisf/om" of the order, he mentions as one of its pillars. This is mii- 
 Bonic, I know. But it reminds me of a remark made by Gen. Lafayette, at 
 the time the Masons were pulling the good old General about in this city, 
 striving among each other for the honor of giving him some of the hiirher, de- 
 grees. "To-morrow," said he, *T am to visit the schools; I am to dine 
 with the mayor; and in the evening I suppose I am to be made very wise by 
 the Freemasons !" I never shall forget the arch look with which he uttered 
 the irony. 
 
LETTER XIII. 141 
 
 and every hazard. And it has been asserted that even thus 
 early, " the intenseness of their anxiety betrayed the par- 
 ^' ties, in very many instances, into an avowal of intentions 
 " and feeUngs, showing how httle they were disposed to re- 
 "gard the laws of the land, and the lives of their fellow 
 *' citizens, if the violation of the first, and the destruction of 
 " the second, should become necessary to efi'ect that ob- 
 "ject."* 
 
 The next measure resolved on for accomplishing the de- 
 struction of the manuscripts, was a night attack upon the 
 printing office of Miller, in the hope of seizing either the 
 copy, or, if printed, the sheets of the work, or both. In- 
 deed they had reason to suppose, from certain information, 
 that portions of the work were printed, and nearly ready 
 for distribution ; another portion was also said to be in type» 
 and nearly ready for the press. For the execution of this en- 
 terprise, forces to the number of between forty and fifty 
 men, were collected from the ranks of the faithful in the 
 surrounding country, — for the excitement among the craft 
 had now become very extensive, — and a rendezvous estab- 
 lished at the public house kept by James Ganson, at the 
 village of Stafford, six miles distant from Batavia, to which 
 place he had removed from Le Roy. It has been given in 
 evidence that some of the persons collected for the execu- 
 tion of this branch of the conspiracy, came from a long dis- 
 tance — several even from Upper Canada. A number went 
 upon this expedition from Buffalo, and twenty-five were 
 expected from Fort George. Supper had been bespoken 
 at Ganson's for this company, for the night of the 8th of 
 September, — a.t wJiich time and place they assembled, and 
 at a late hour of the night, proceeded on the expedition, 
 under the conduct of Col. Edward Sawyer, a high Mason, 
 of Canandaigua. Before the conspirators had arrived at 
 
 -* Pccportof the Lcwiston committee. 
 
142 LETTER XIII. 
 
 the printing office, however, they were informed that, by 
 some means. Miller had been apprised of their intended at- 
 tack upon his castle, and had consequently made prepara- 
 tions for defending it. He had indeed collected some fire- 
 arms for the occasion ; and so w^ell satisfied were the inva- 
 ders of the fact, and so little disposed were they to jeopard 
 their own lives or limbs withal, even in the cause of Free- 
 masonry, that the assault was relinquished, and the forces, 
 in the gray of the morning, dispersed. Some of the party 
 returned back to the place of their evening's rendezvous, 
 where Col. Saw^yer was bitterly reproached for the coward- 
 ice which had resulted in the entire failure of such a formi- 
 dable expedition. One of the causes assigned for the dis- 
 persion, was the arrival of the western stage, before they 
 had concluded upon their measures, thereby rendering dis- 
 covery more likely, before they could proceed to the work ; — 
 but it was unquestionably the villainous smell of saltpetre, 
 which caused them to hesitate, and ultimately to disband 
 themselves, — each one taking the best care of himself that 
 he could. 
 
 But the design upon the printing office was not yet aban- 
 doned, and a yet more atrocious crime was attempted 
 within two days afterwards. It is only by degrees that 
 men become criminal. And how often would the lesser 
 crime go uncommitted, could he who contemplates it, fore- 
 see the deep abyss of guilt into which, possibly, this very 
 first transgression will ultimately hurry him. So in the 
 present instance : some of those who had intended no more 
 than a forcible entry, and a robbery of a few sheets of man- 
 uscripts, foiled in that enterprise, now resolved upon the 
 capital offence of arson, and all its direful consequences. 
 On the night of Sunday, the 10th of September, the people 
 of Batavia w^ere startled from their slumbers, by the appal- 
 ling, cry of fire. The flames were bursting from the stair- 
 way of the printing oflice of Col. Miller, but had been so 
 
LETTER Xlir. 14S 
 
 early discovered, and assistance was so promptly rendered, 
 that they were soon got under, without occasioning any con- 
 siderable damage. Miller's offices were in the upper sto- 
 ries of two wooden buildings, with a stair-way between 
 them ; and the lower stories of both, were occupied, to the 
 number of sixteen persons, — so that the lives of all these 
 people were jeoparded by this diabolical act ; while, more- 
 over, had the expectations of the incendiaries been realized, 
 a large portion of the village would probably have been in- 
 volved in the common ruin. Indeed the calamity was 
 averted only by a signal interposition of Providence. It 
 appears that a number of teamsters had arrived in the vil- 
 lage on the evening of this memorable night, and stopped at 
 a public house nearly opposite the printing offices. Howev- 
 er, unable, all of them, to procure lodgings in the tavern, and 
 the weather being mild and pleasant, some of them took up 
 their residence, for the night, in the body of a covered stage 
 coach, standing in the street near to the offices. The flames 
 were therefore discovered the moment they burst forth. A 
 number of barrels of water, caught from the eves of the 
 house during a recent shower, were likewise standing in 
 providential readiness for the occasion, and the catastrophe 
 was thus averted. Although the materials for kindling a 
 fire were found on the spot, such as cotton balls saturated 
 with turpentine, and other combustibles, which had been 
 thrown under the stairs, while the sides of the buildings had 
 been smeared Vi^ith the same hquid, in order to ensure their 
 more rapid destruction, — a dark-lanthern being also found 
 in the street a few yards off; — yet, from the expedition 
 w^ith which the flames were extinguished, there were not 
 wanting those who insinuated that the torch had been ap- 
 plied by Miller's own hand, in order to increase the cry of 
 persecution, and excite the sympathy of the public in his 
 favor. The cruel device was effectual for many months ; 
 and the im nression that such was probably the fact, was not 
 
144 LETTER Xiil. 
 
 removed from my own mind, until the spring of the ensuing 
 year. All this, however, in due season. Suffice it for the 
 present to say, that the evidence, in the end, was most 
 abundant, that the dark deed was attempted by at least one 
 of the ringleaders of the fruitless expedition of the prece- 
 ding Friday night. 
 
 It was on the morning of this same Sunday, the 10th of 
 September, that Mr. Nicholas G. Cheseboro, one of the 
 coroners of the county of Ontario, and master of the lodge 
 in Canandaigua, applied to Jeflrey Chipman, Esq., of the 
 same village, for a warrant for the apprehension of William 
 Morgan, on a charge of petit larceny. It appears that dur- 
 ing the m.onth of May preceding, when on a visit to Canan- 
 daigua, Morgan had borrowed a shirt and cravat of a man 
 named Kingsley, the tavern-keeper with whom he lodged, 
 which articles lie had not returned. Such was the nature 
 of the larceny charged, and tiie necessity of the case which 
 demanded the issuing of a peace-warrant on the christian 
 Sabbath ! It is but justice to Kingsley, however, to say, 
 that he had never an intention of entering any complaint 
 in this matter, until prompted thereto by Cheseboro. But 
 be that as it may, the warrant was granted, and directed to 
 Cheseboro, as Coroner, who, taking with him a constable 
 named Halloway Hayward, and four other persons, viz : 
 Henry Howard, Harris Seymour, JMoscs Roberts, and Jo- 
 seph Scofield, immediately proceeded for Batavia, in an 
 extra coach, engaged expressly for that purpose. The par- 
 ty was recruited, from time to time, on the way, it being 
 joined by Asa Nowlan, an inn-keeper, at Avon ; by John. 
 Butter field, merchant, of Caledonia, and at Lc Roy b}- 
 Ella G. Smith. At this latter place, the warrant v/as en- 
 dorsed by a justice of the peace, of Genesee — a cere- 
 mony necessary to give it force and virtue in that county^ 
 The party proceeded thence to the late rendezvous at Gan- 
 son's, in StafF:>rd. where they supped ; and it is in evidence 
 
LETTER XllI* 145 
 
 'that all the party seemed well aware, that the object of this 
 journey was the arrest of Morgan. While at Ganson's, the 
 party of Cheseboro were introduced to a Dr. Samuel S But- 
 ler, of that place, who was dispatched in advance, to Bata- 
 via, with a message to Wilham Seaver, master of Batavia 
 lodge, and to Nathan Follett, who has formerly been men- 
 tioned. Leaving Stafford, with Ganson as an addition to 
 the company, they proceeded forward towards Batavia, 
 but when within one mile and an half of the village, they 
 were met by Dr. Butler, with a message from Follett that 
 they should not come on — (in so large a party, probably 
 meaning,) — lest their appearance in Batavia should cause a 
 fresh alarm. After a short consultation, the party now se- 
 parated ; several of the persons, and among them Chese- 
 boro and Hayward, the constable, proceeded to Batavia, 
 on foot, while others returned with the carriage. 
 
 Early on the following morning, (the 11th,) Morgan was 
 arrested by Hayward, and brought to a tavern kept by Mr. 
 Danolds — Morgan making no objections to going along 
 with him., and breakfasting with the officer and his asso- 
 ciates. An extra coach was again engaged for the return ; 
 but while preparations were making for their departure, 
 Colonel Miller appeared, and objected to Morgan's being 
 taken away, on the ground that he was then on the limits, 
 and, .of course, in the custody of the sheriff of Genesee : 
 Miller, being his bail, feared that should he be carried be- 
 yond the prison limits, he (Miller) would then become re- 
 sponsible for the debt and costs. In answer to this objec- 
 tion, it was maintained, that, inasmuch as the warrant wag 
 issued in the name of the people, for a criminal offence, the 
 officers had a right to hold his person, and take him to Ca- 
 nandaigua. Morgan made no objections himself, and volun- 
 tarily entered the carriage, according to the account of 
 Brown ; but the narrative of the Lewiston committee, 
 which appears to have been drawn up with great Gaution, 
 
 19 
 
146 LETTER XIII. 
 
 conveys a difierent impression. Miller, it says, was rudely 
 pushed aside by Danolds, the inn-keeper, who closed the 
 door, while Cheseboro, mounting upon the outside, direc- 
 ted the coachman to drive fast, until they should cross 
 the line of the county. The coachman, it appears, was 
 suspicious that all was not right ; and being reluctant to 
 proceed, was persuaded by Cheseboro to keep on to Staf- 
 ford, on the assurance that Ganson would then become se- 
 curity against all responsibility — and this responsibility 
 was assumed by Ganson. At Le Roy, Morgan was told 
 by Hayward, that if he chose, he might go before the ma- 
 gistrate who had endorsed the warrant, and be discharged, 
 on giving bail for his appearance to answer to the charge, 
 at the next term of the General Sessions of the Peace for 
 Ontario. It may have been that Morgan, being thus aw^ay 
 from home, felt that it would be difficult for him to procure 
 bail, should he make the exertion ; — but he said he preferred 
 going on to Canandaigua, where, as he believed, he could 
 soon satisfy Kingsley, that, although he liad not returned 
 the trifle of clothing, yet he had no intention of stealing it. 
 The distance between Canandaigua and Batavia, is fifty 
 miles ; and the party having Morgan in custody, arrived on 
 their return, at about sun-set. The prisoner was inuiie- 
 diately taken before Justice Chipman, and examined upon 
 the charge preferred against him, but which soon fellto the 
 ground. It appeared that he had merely borrowed the shirt 
 and cravat of Kingsley, and of course there was nothing felo- 
 nious in the transaction. On being discharged from this pro- 
 secution, however, in which a Mason, by the name of Loton 
 Lawson, appeared on his behalf, he was immediately arrest- 
 ed by Cheseboro for a small debt of two dollars, due to one 
 Aaron Ackley, another tavern-keeper in Canandaigua, and 
 for the collection of which Cheseboro produced a power of 
 attorney. Morgan admitted this debt ; judgment was taken 
 by confession ; and an execution was sued out on the spot. 
 
LETTER XIII. 147 
 
 Having no money to satisfy it, he pulled off his coat, and 
 made a tender of that ; — but the officer refused to take it, 
 and the unhappy man was forthwith taken to prison, and 
 locked up at about 10 o'clock in the evening. It was on the 
 morning of that day, that the sun last dawned upon his 
 freedom. ' • 
 
 Frequent and labored attempts have been made to create 
 an impression, that the proceedings respecting Morgan last 
 narrated, were had in due course of law. But the trans- 
 action itself, and all the circumstances attending it, are too 
 transparent not to be seen through at a glance. If the pro- 
 secution for the larceny was instituted for an honest pur- 
 pose, to vindicate the offended law, and bring an offender to 
 justice, why was the business not taken in hand sooner? 
 Why was the matter of the shirt and cravat suffered to lie 
 along from May till September ? And why did not Kings- 
 ley take the affair in hand of his own motion himself ? Why 
 was Cheseboro so deeply interested in the matter, and 
 whence the necessity of taking along so large a quota of 
 the posse of Ontario, for the security of a poor man, who 
 seems certainly to have been rather a submissive and quiet 
 citizen ? How happened it, also, that these men were so 
 ready to halt at Ganson's on the way ? What meant the 
 mission of Dr. Butler — his errand back, and the disper- 
 sion ? How, moreover, are we to account for the manner 
 of Cheseboro, on leaving Batavia with Morgan ? And how 
 happened his ready preparation for the second suit, for the 
 paltry debt of Ackley's, and the indecent haste with which 
 Morgan was hurried ofi' to the gloomy prison-house, if this 
 matter was nothing more than a fair and proper legal pro- 
 cedure ? The fact is not so : for notwithstanding the subse- 
 quent trial and acquittal of Howard, Seymour, Roberts, 
 Scofield, and others who accompanied Hayward and Chese- 
 boro to Batavia on that occasion, on an indictment as par- 
 ticipants in the conspiracy, there is yet testimony of a di- 
 
148 LETTER XIII. 
 
 rect and conclusive character, showing that this transaction 
 was most foul ; — that it was, in fact, another prostitution of 
 justice, and a solemn mockery of the laws of the land. 
 
 The unexpected arrest of Morgan, so early on the morn- 
 ing of the 11th, and the suddenness of his departure in the 
 custody of the officers from the village, had left his wdfe 
 ignorant either of the cause of his absence, or the direction 
 in which he had gone. Becoming uneasy at his continued 
 absence, on the forenoon of the 12th, Mrs. Morgan sent for 
 Mr. William R. Thomson, the sheriff, to procure tidings, if 
 possible, upon both points. Mr. Thompson gave her the 
 particulars of the arrest, and the charge against him, — add- 
 ing, that he presumed the allegation respecting the shirt and 
 cravat was a mere pretext to get him away. Mrs. M. then 
 inquired whether it was probable the restoration of her 
 husband could be procured, provided she were to give up to 
 the Masons the papers in her possession. Mr. Thompson 
 thought a suri'ender of the papers might effect that object ; 
 but he would give no pledge upon the subject. He how- 
 ever advised Mrs. Morgan to take the papers, go to Ca- 
 nandaigua, and make the attempt, — stating, at the same 
 time, that it would not do for any person to go along with 
 her but a Mason, — he not being one himself, as he then 
 alledged. ^' r. T. then proposed that Mr. Follett, or Mr. 
 Ketchum, should be requested to accompany her on the 
 journey, for which purpose he went and saw those per- 
 sons upon the subject. Returning soon afterwards, he 
 said that neither of them would go, unless they were al- 
 lowed previously to see and examine the papers, as Follett 
 said, " they were not going on a fool's errand." To this 
 proposition Mrs. M. objected for some time, lest she should 
 be deprived of them. But on the assurance of Mr^ T. that 
 they would not keep them from her, she assented. Follett 
 and Ketchum then came to the house, and after looking over 
 the papers for awhile, agreed to proceed with the afflicteil 
 
LETTER XIII. 149 
 
 woman to Canandaigua, as she had requested. They de- 
 parted from Batavia at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 stopped at Stafford. Mrs. M. was then taken into a back 
 room, where her guardians were joined by Ganson, and the 
 celebrated Johns, heretofore particularly mentioned. They 
 all thereupon proceeded earnestly to examme the papers, 
 talking over them in low tones of voice. Johns was asked 
 if they were the same papers which he had seen in the of- 
 fice, and replied that they were, with the exception of one 
 degree, which was yet missing, and of which he gave a par- 
 ticular description as to the manner in which the manuscript 
 was folded. After some consultation by themselves, Fol- 
 jett announced to Mrs. M. that he could go no farther with 
 her ; but that as Mr. Ketchum was going to Rochester, he 
 would proceed with her to Canandaigua — assuring her, at 
 the same time, that K. was a gentleman with whom she 
 need not be afraid to entrust herself. Taking the papers 
 with them, Mrs. M. proceeded forward with K., to Avon, 
 where they tarried for the night. They arrived at Canan^ 
 daigua about noon of the following day — Wednesday, the 
 13th of September. 
 
 During the journey from Batavia, the feelings of Mrs. M. 
 had been sustained by the confident expectation, that she 
 would not only meet her husband on her arrival at Canan- 
 daigua,^ but procure his release, even were she to find him 
 in duress. The charge under pretext of which he had been 
 so rudely torn from his family and home, was of such a pal- 
 try nature, that it could not be doubted that in the wonder- 
 ful papers, which were now in her trunk, she had a charn?i 
 that would readily dissolve all the bolts and bars that might 
 stand in her way. But hope was a deceiver. Ketchmn, 
 after an absence of some time, returned to the inn at which 
 they had stopped, stating that he had not been able to find 
 her husband ; adding that the Masons looked upon him as 
 a friend of Morgan's, and being apprehensive that he had 
 
15^ 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 come to get him away, would hold no conversation with 
 him. He then asked her for the papers, and taking them 
 with him, promised to do all in his power to ascertain where 
 her husband was, and bring her the intelligence. Hour af- 
 ter hour passed away, without any tidings, during which 
 time her apprehensions became painfully oppressive. To- 
 wards evening, however, he again returned, and informed 
 the distressed woman of her husband's having been there ; 
 of his trial for larceny ; his acquittal, &:c. ; together \vith 
 the particulars of his second arrest and imprisonment for 
 debt. But although he truly added that Morgan had sub- 
 sequently been taken from the prison, by a man who had 
 paid the debt, and carried off in a close carriage, yet he 
 stated the falsehood, that this debt had been paid by a man 
 from Pennsylvania, to whiom he (Morgan) was indebted, 
 and at w4/ose suit he had now been carried thither. He 
 then coldly asked Mrs. Morgan, when she wished to return 
 home to Batavia. The desolate woman replied that she 
 would go immediately, as she had left a child but two years 
 old, and, without money, was there, among strangers, with 
 an infant in her arms only two months old. 
 
 Once more was the poor W'Oman left alone, while her 
 guardian went to take a passage for her in the stage. Re- 
 turning again, in the evening, a scene occurred of the most 
 interesting and painful description. He found Mrs. Mor- 
 gan traversing the room, in the bitterest anguish, relieved 
 only by the tears which were flowing down her cheeks. 
 Though beyond a doubt he was deeply in the plot, yet he 
 could not withstand the passion of her grief ; he could not, 
 it seems, suffer her to depart under the cruel deception 
 which he had attempted to practice upon the now wretched 
 woman. Accordingly, after surveying her for a few mo- 
 ments in her distress, he took her to a seat, and attempted 
 to sooth the bitterness of her feelings. He assured her that 
 he did notlmow where her husband was, — that bis place of 
 
LETTER XIII. 151 
 
 concealment was not known, — but that if she would permit 
 him to take the papers to Rochester, he thought he should 
 be able to discover him. He then told her that a part of 
 the papers which they wanted were missing, — particularly 
 the illustrations of the mark-master's degree, — and he urged 
 that, on her return to Batavia, she would find the remainder 
 of the papers, if possible, — assuring her, moreover, that if 
 she could ascertain v/here the sheets of the first three de- 
 grees, already printed by Miller, could be found, and give 
 him information at Rochester, by letter, he would give her 
 twenty-five dollars, and the lodge would pay her one hun- 
 dred dollars more. Mrs. M. declined making the attempt 
 to obtain the papers, or printed sheets, from Miller, and said 
 she would not receive the money. She also hesitated about 
 giving up the papers now in her possession, fearing, as she 
 frankly told him, that it was their intention to keep her hus- 
 band in concealment until they should obtain them all, and 
 then take his life. He again pressed her to write to him at 
 Rochester, and inform him as to the state of public feeling 
 at Batavia, in regard to the taking away of her husband. 
 He gave his name on a slip of paper, "George Ketchum," 
 and on taking leave, made a solemn pledge as follows : — " I 
 " promise, before my God, that I will not deceive you, but 
 " will do all I can to find out where he [Morgan] is, and let 
 *' you see him : I have no doubt when I get back to Roches- 
 ** ter, I can find out more, and I think I can find where he 
 "is." 
 
 Ketchum had paid her passage, and he now gave her two 
 dollars to defray her expenses back to Batavia. Thus was 
 this unfortunate woman left — a stranger, in a strange place — 
 homeless — friendless — with an infant at her breast, and an- 
 other child at fifty miles distance, which, though not quite 
 so young, was, nevertheless, equally dependant and helpless. 
 Her husband^no matter what w^ere his faults, he was still 
 her husband, the father of her children— had been torn from 
 
152 
 
 LETTER XIlT, 
 
 his family ; and with a heavy heart, she was now compel- 
 led to return, after a fruitless search, equally as ignorant of 
 his fate, or of the place in which he had been concealed, as 
 when she had set out upon the bootless mission. 
 
 Mrs. Morgan departed from Canandaigua, on her return, 
 in the first stage, for Batavia. Arriving at Le Roy, 
 James Ganson again made his appearance, and joined her 
 in the coach. He stated to her that he was then on his way 
 to Batavia, to make arrangements for her support, because 
 her husband would not be seen by her for at least a year, 
 and perhaps more ;, although he assured her that he had not 
 been killed. But he told her that in any event, she should 
 be well provided for, that her children should be sent to 
 school, &c. In a few hours after the disconsolate woman 
 had reached her desolate home, moreover, she was visited 
 by the same Thomas M'Cully, at whose suit her husband 
 had been thrust into the Batavia prison in August, and who 
 had assisted in ransacking the house for the anxiously-sought 
 manuscripts. The object of his visit was to inform her that 
 the lodge had appointed him to provide for the support of 
 herself and children, and that he had engaged lodgings for 
 them at the pubhc house of Danolds, at which place her 
 husband had been detained after his arrest on the 10th, 
 until he was thrust into the carriage, and taken away. The 
 offers, both of Ganson and M'Cully, were promptly rejected 
 by Mrs. Morgan. If compelled to live by charity, she pre- 
 ferred receiving it from different persons than those by whom 
 her misfortunes had been brought upon her.* 
 
 * It appears that the proffers of masonic assistance which I have mention- 
 ed, were not all that Mrs. M. received. It is stated in the report dftho Lcm- 
 iston committee, that "about the first of March, 1827, lienry Brown, Esq. 
 of Batavia, said to be Grand Commander of tlic Kniohts Templars Encamp. 
 ed at Le Roy, called at Mrs. Morgan's lodjrintrs, and exhibited to the wo- 
 man with whom she boarded, a bair containinij, as ho said, silver dollo.rs, 
 which he professed great anxiety to give to her without delay. Mrs. Mot- 
 <»an never sent for the dollars, and tlicy M'cre taken away by Mr. Brown, 
 but it is not known to what use they were subsequently appropriated." 
 
 Q,uerij : Was this the Henry Brown, who wrote tho narrative of these 
 importaat transactions^ for the benefit of the Masons ? 
 
LETTER XIV. 153 
 
 Prom the circumstances of the arrest of Morgan, by Hay- 
 ward and Cheseboro, and those attending the journey of 
 Mrs. Morgan, as disclosed in the foregoing narrative, there 
 can, I think, be no doubt of the correctness of the opinion I 
 have expressed a few pages back, viz : that all the legal 
 part of these proceedings, was but a solemn mockery of 
 law and justice, the forms of which were knowingly prosti- 
 tuted to subserve the vilest purposes, to the deep and last- 
 ing injury of the unoffending man who was immediately 
 concerned, even though he should have escaped from the 
 toils which had thus been spread for his destruction ! 
 
 I have the honor, sir, to remain vours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 5, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 It was early on the morning of Tuesday, the 12th of 
 September, — the morning of Mrs. Morgan's departure in 
 quest of her husband, — that Col. Miller received an anony- 
 mous note, the chirography of which was unknown, inform- 
 ing him that an attempt was that day to be made to take 
 his office by assault, and, at all hazards, to wrest from his 
 possession the manuscripts, and probably the printed sheets 
 also, of his proposed masonic publication. This notice 
 was shown by Miller to some of his friends, and a consulta- 
 tion held to determine what was best to be done. Millers 
 office was already armed by two swivels, fifteen or twenty 
 guns, and several pistols. Some were disposed to treat the 
 threat as an idle one ; but recent occurrences admonished 
 the majority, that it was the dictate of prudence to be on 
 their guard. A number of the villagers, therefore, armed 
 
 themselves with clubs, and repaired to the neiirhborhood of 
 
 20 
 
154 LETTER XIV. 
 
 the office, to be prepared to repel force by force, should the 
 information conveyed by the note prove to be well founded. 
 It was well that this precaution was adopted ; for, at about 
 the hour of 12 o'clock at noon, the village was once more 
 invaded by a gang of between sixty and seventy men, arm- 
 ed with heavy sticks or clubs, newly prepared, all appear- 
 ing as if cut at the same time, and for the same purpose ; 
 and the persons wielding them, were all, or nearly all, en- 
 tirely strangers to the inhabitants of Batavia. There was 
 much consternation in the village, at the appearance of such 
 a formidable array of at least partially armed men : for the 
 singular arrest of Morgan; the manner in which he had 
 been hurried away ; and the doubt and uncertainty that 
 hung over his fate, were subjects already in the mouths of 
 the people. Added to thisy should a riot ensue, it was now 
 ascertained, that there was not, at that time, a single magis- 
 trate in the village, — they all having, by a strange and sin- 
 gular coincidence, been subpoenaed into a distant town, as 
 witnesses. The rendezvous of this party was at the house 
 of Danolds ; but they had doubtless been advised of the pre- 
 parations made to give them a warm reception, should they 
 attempt any oflensive measures, as well by the friends of 
 Miller, as by Miller's own garrison, armed as it was by 
 swivels and fire-arms of various calibre, — for they made no 
 demonstration towards the office in a body. Along witli 
 this company was a constable from Le Roy, named Jesse 
 French, who alkidged that he had a warrant for Miller, and 
 from the intimations given out, it was supposed to be a 
 criminal process. French, with a single assistant, proceed- 
 ed to the office and arrested Miller, who made no resistance, 
 although one of his men called for a pistol, but repaired 
 with the officer to the inn of Danolds. Here he was de- 
 tained a couple of hours, but was not prevented from com- 
 xnunicating with his friends, nor from consulting with 
 couniseL He was afterwards placed in an open waggon* 
 
LETTER XIV. 155 
 
 with seven strong men, strangers to him, who were all arm- 
 ed, as above described ; the constable mounted on horse- 
 back ; and in this manner, attended by the mob, increased 
 by a number of the people of Batavia, they proceeded to 
 Stafford, where, in the face of his remonstrances, and those 
 of his couilsel, who followed him, he was forced up into 
 ihe third story of a stone house, and placed under a guard 
 of five men, in a lodge-room. To all inquiries as to the 
 nature of the warrant under which he had been taken, the 
 jfeplies were vague and evasive ; but both Miller and his 
 counsel were again and again given to understand that it 
 was a criminal process. By some means or other, however, 
 Miller had learned that the process had been sued out by 
 his evil genius, Johns, who has been already twice men- 
 tioned. This man, who had been in pretended partnership 
 with Miller, had only left him three days before, — having 
 succeeded in purloining a part of the coveted papers ; — 
 while, as it was said. Miller had managed to get hold of 
 some thirty or forty dollars of his cash. But be that as it 
 may, Johns now suddenly made his appearance in the lodge- 
 room, and marched quickly up to Miller with a drawn 
 sword. The latter remonstrated with him on the subject of 
 his conduct — to which Johns replied, with a faultering 
 tongue, that he was only performing what he had been 
 commanded to do. While thus in confinement at Stafl:brd5 
 Miller learnt that the process had been issued by a magis- 
 trate at Le Roy ; but his guards told him he was not 
 to be tried there — nor by any ordinary tribunal. He was 
 not to stop at that place ; but was going where Morgan 
 was. In reply to a question from him, what tribunal he was 
 to meet, and where Morgan was, the answer was equally 
 significant and laconic — " You will see !" A number of 
 Miller's friends were admitted into the lodge-room, at their 
 request ; but the great and unnecessary delay at this place, 
 and the refusal of those having Miller in custody, to pro- 
 
156 LETTER XIV. 
 
 ceed on to Le Roy, where the warrant was returnable, 
 created a suspicion that they were waiting for night-fall, that 
 under the mantle of darkness, an opportunity might occur 
 to play the prisoner foul. It was not until dusk in the eve- 
 ning, that the party proceeded onward to Le Roy, four 
 miles. The journey was not unattended by noise and tu- 
 mult — a considerable party of Miller's friends having fol- 
 lowed on from Batavia. On arriving at Le Roy, French 
 proposed to take his prisoner to a tavern, in which was a 
 lodge-room ; but Miller and his counsel both objected to 
 this arrangement, and insisted upon going directly before 
 the magistrate, which was accordingly done. Leaving the 
 prisoner before the justice, French then went in pursuit of 
 the plaintiff, — for it now appeared that the warrant was 
 merely a civil process, issued on the application of Johns, 
 for the recovery of certain monies advanced by him to 
 Miller, w^hile he was acting as a counterfeit partner in what 
 Miller, at the time, supposed to be their joint speculation. 
 After waiting about half an hour, the officer not having re- 
 turned himself, nor made a return of the warrant, and no 
 plaintiff appearing, the magistrate discharged the defendant, 
 and told him to go where he pleased. Just as he was leav- 
 ing the oflice of the magistrate, with his friends, French 
 came up in company with Johns, and made an attempt to 
 arrest him again ; but he did not succeed, and Miller esca- 
 ped to a public house. French and his party raUied again, 
 and made several additional efforts to seize him upon the 
 same warrant, but the attempts were all incflectual ; and, 
 finally, the friends of Miller succeeded in forcing him into a 
 carriage, in which, late ir) the night, he was returned safely 
 to his home, and his family were, consequently, once more 
 relieved from the terror occasioned by the extraordinary 
 transactions of the day. 
 
 It requires no argument upon the preceding statement of 
 facts, to show, that the process of the law was again, for a 
 
LETTER XIV. 157 
 
 third time, abused, and its majesty insulted, by this pretend- 
 ed legal arrest, and the outrageous circumstances attending 
 it. It was well that a portion of the people of Batavia 
 had been made acquainted with the intended visit of these 
 audacious disturbers of the peace, coming under the cloak 
 of the civil la'w. But why was it, that all the magistrates 
 of the village, had been summoned into another town, as 
 witnesses, on that day ? A state of things might have 
 arisen, in which the presence of the magistracy would have 
 been of the utmost consequence. Is it not possible, — nay, 
 probable, inasmuch as the conspiracy was widely extended, 
 and its members very numerous, either that the magistrates 
 were willingly absent, or that, without their own knowledge, 
 perhaps, their absence had been procured precisely at that 
 time, to favor the views of the conspirators ? The latter is 
 the most charitable inference ; and yet, there is an anecdote 
 on record, remaining, as far as I am informed, uncontradic- 
 ted, which amply warrants a contrary conclusion. Two of 
 those magistrates, residing in the village, were Masons. 
 One of these remarked, to a third person, before his return 
 from Bethany, (the town to which he had been taken by 
 subpoBua,) " that he (the person addressed) need not be sur- 
 *' prised, if, on his return to Batavia, he should find Miller's 
 *' office levelled with the earth." The gentleman to whom 
 the remark was made, inquired, " if they, being justices of 
 " the peace, thought such proceedings right ?" " Why," 
 replied one of them, " if you found a man abusing your 
 " marriage bed, would you have recourse to the law, or 
 " would you not rather talvc a club, and beat his brains 
 " out ?" Comment upon this short but emphatic colloquy, 
 is unnecessary. 
 
 There was now a brief pause in the progress of events ; 
 but it lasted only a week or two. It is true, that an im- 
 perfect statement of the occurrences was published in CoL 
 Miller's paper, and possibly copied by a few — a very few= — 
 
158 Letter xiv. 
 
 publishers elsewhere ; but very little attention was paid to 
 the story abroad — probably, in the first instance, from an 
 impression that the rumors related to some trifling local af- 
 fray, which had been greatly magnified, and which possess- 
 ed little, if any, public importance. I well recollect that 
 the first knowledge I possessed upon the subject, was de* 
 rived from one of Miller's papers, which caught my eye at 
 a public house in New- Jersey, on the day of commencing 
 a journey to Baltimore and Washington. It made but a 
 transient impression upon my mind; and seeing nothing 
 further upon the subject for some weeks, during my ab- 
 sence, and even after my return, the circumstances had all 
 but escaped my memory, until they were revived late in the 
 autumn, by the unpleasant reports, and symptoms of high 
 excitement, which began to reach us from the west. 
 
 In and about Batavia, however, a strong feeling of dis- 
 trust soon began to pervade the unmasonio community, 
 touching the cause of the protracted absence of Morgan. 
 More than a week had passed away, and there were no 
 tidings from him ; while the manner in which those of the 
 Masons conducted themselves, who had clearly been either 
 directly concerned in the transactions before related, or had 
 looked on rather with approbation, than otherwise, was lit- 
 tle calculated to allay the public apprehension. Instead of 
 expressing any anxiety themselves, they jeered and laughed 
 at those who did. Nor did they hesitate, occasionally, to 
 justify their conduct in carrying him away, and even to de- 
 clare, that any punishment he might have received, was too 
 good for him. Indeed, their carriage was such, in various 
 respects, as to offend many good citizens, and to excite the 
 suspicions of those who would, otherwise, have been the last 
 to entertain a belief that friends and neighbors, of so much 
 respectability, could have been concerned in any transac- 
 tions involving positive crime. It was apparent that they 
 supposed their stratagems to prevent the publication of the 
 
LETTER XV. 159 
 
 hated book, had been crowned with complete success. No 
 publication was yet issued from Miller's office ; Johns, 
 three days before Miller's arrest, had succeeded in purloin- 
 ing a portion of the manuscripts appertaining to the upper 
 degrees, and marring somewhat more ; and Ketchum had 
 obtained from Mrs. Morgan the original manuscripts of the 
 first three degrees. These, therefore, were strong reasons 
 why they might imagine that the work had been effectually 
 suppressed, and they exulted at their supposed success, in 
 terms of unqualified and undisguised triumph. Little did 
 they think that the prize obtained of the wretched woman 
 was valueless. But it was so ; she having, in fact, obtained 
 the papers from Miller, for the purpose of negotiating with 
 the fraternity for the liberation of her husband, after he had 
 no farther use for them. That portion of the manuscripts 
 which had been embezzled by Johns, was sent to New- 
 York by an express, to be laid before the General Grand 
 Chapter of the United States, then holding its triennial con- 
 vocation in this city. Of this circumstance, however, I 
 shall speak more at large hereafter, in connexion with the 
 name of an illustrious individual, now no more, who has 
 been most infamously calumniated, not only in regard to 
 the precise occurrence to which I now refer, but likewise 
 in connexion with the whole transaction. 
 
 With sentiments of great respect, I am, &:c. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 8, 1832. 
 
 The desolate condition of Mrs. Morgan, after her return 
 from Canandaigua, pennyless, and, for aught she knew, 
 husbandless likewise, did not escape the attention of the 
 
160 LETTER XV. 
 
 humane citizens of Batavia. She had rejected the proffer- 
 ed bounty of the lodges, and, under the circumstances, she 
 had done right. Poor indeed must she have been, to have 
 acted otherwise. But although I would by no means un- 
 dervalue the charities of the lodges, which, as I well know, 
 before the institution had been so greatly abused, have sent 
 forth their beneficence in countless streams and rivulets, car- 
 rying gladness and comfort to thousands of the destitute and 
 afflicted, yet, fortunately, in this favored country, charity is 
 not confined to the members of the fraternity. There are 
 hearts to feel the woes of others, and hands to administer to 
 the wants of the destitute — to cheer the widow's heart, and 
 wipe the tears from the orphan's cheek — in every village 
 that studs the face of our beautiful land. The kindest sym- 
 pathies of these were enlisted in behalf of Mrs. Morgan, 
 and the necessary measures were taken by the benevolent 
 to provide for her immediate w^ants. Meantime, day after 
 day passed away, without seeing, or hearing a word from 
 Morgan ; and from frequent inuendoes, and dark givings- 
 out, it became a doubtful matter whether his return was to 
 be expected at all. It was therefore determined to despatch 
 a messenger to Canandaigua, to make inquiries as to his 
 probable fate, and ascertain, if possible, the place of his con- 
 cealment, or learn the direction in w^hich he had been taken. 
 The mystery of the case was hourly becoming deeper ; nor 
 was it in any degree dispelled, or the anxieties of the wife 
 lessened, by a letter which she received from Ketchum, 
 dated at Rochester, September 14th, two days after he had 
 parted from her, at Canandaigua. This letter exhorted her 
 to make herself contented — assured her that her husband 
 was well ; but protested that the writer could neither tell 
 where he was, nor which way he went. It cautioned her 
 to keep her own counsels — to be faithful to his directions, 
 given her at Canandaigua — in which case, he assured her, 
 she would find friends, — admonished her not to exchangk 
 
LETTER XV. 161 
 A WORD WITH THE PEHSON WHO IIAXBED IIEIl THE LETTER 
 
 told her to write to hini if she wanted money — and charged 
 her to burn his letter up as soon as she had perused it. Of 
 course such a communication only tended to increase the 
 mystery already shrouding the transaction, while it also in- 
 creased the now rapidly awakening suspicion, not only that 
 all was not right, but that there was sometliing to be dis- 
 closed, flagrantly wrong. 
 
 The agent selected for the purpose above mentioned 
 proceeded to Canandaigua, and entered upon the duties of 
 his appointment. Morgan, it will be recollected, had been 
 lodged in prison on the evening of Monday, the 11th of 
 September, on the execution procured by Cheseboro, and in 
 the manner already related. The information procured by 
 this agent, — Timothy Fitch, Esquire, — seemed but to in- 
 crease the mystery he v/as attempting to penetrate. He 
 procured five depositions, and made a sixth himself, in 
 which he detailed certain important information communi- 
 cated to him by the keeper of a livery stable, named Hiram 
 Hopkins. These statements disclosed the following extra- 
 ordinary facts : Morgan was thrust into prison, at about tlie 
 hour of 9 o'clock in the evening. Immediately afterwards, 
 on the same night, a man named Loton Lawson, hired a 
 horse of Ackley, avowedly for the purpose of going to Ro- 
 chester — distant thirty miles. Ho returned early in tiie 
 morning, and went immediately to bed — informing Ackley, 
 the inn-keeper, that some gentlemen from Rochester would 
 call for him in the course of the day. In the afternoon, two 
 men from Rochester, viz : Burrage Smith, and John Whit- 
 ney, called, agreeably to the intimation. Lawson being 
 aroused from his sleep, came down stairs, and all three went 
 out together. In the evening of this day — September 12 — 
 (at which time, it will be remembered, that, under delu- 
 sive guidance, tlie alarmed and distracted wife of Morgan 
 was engaged in hov ineliectual pursuit of one 'who n.^ 
 
 '21 • 
 
1G2 letti:r xv, 
 
 vcr was destined to return,) — Lawson went to the jail, 
 and applied to Mrs. Hall, the w ife of the keeper — her hus- 
 band not being within at the time, — for permission to see 
 Morgan, and have some private conversation with him, for 
 which purpose he desired to be admitted into his cell. This 
 request was refused, and eventually Morgan was called to 
 the door, where some conversation took place between 
 them. Lawson informed the prisoner that he had come to 
 pay the debt and costs, and release him ; and asked him 
 whether, on being discharged, he would go home and stay 
 with him that night ; to which proposition Morgan replied 
 in the affirmative. Lawson thereupon requested Mrs. Hall 
 to let him out, and he would satisfy the execution. But the 
 request w^as declined. Her husband not being at home, Mrs. 
 IL was p] operly cautious in her proceedings ; and besides, 
 the execution being locked up in a desk, she could not as- 
 certain the amount due. Lawson then said he would pay 
 the amount of the execution when Mr. Kail came in ; but 
 Morgan, being then undressed and in bed, replied that it 
 was no matter that night — the affair might as well be left 
 till morning. Lawson, however, insisted upon doing it that 
 night, complaining, at the same time, of being much wearied, 
 in consequence of having been running about for him [Mor- 
 gan,] all day. He then went out, as he said, to look for 
 the jailor, and returned in about half an hour, averring that 
 he had been at every place where it was likely he should 
 find the keeper, but without success. He was now accom- 
 panied by a man named Foster, as he called himself, but 
 which Mrs. Hall believed was an assumed name. She 
 thought he was one of the prisoners on the limits. Lawson 
 again pressed Mrs. Hall to release Morgan, proposing to 
 leave five dollars, a sum much greater than the amount due 
 on the execution, by way of indemnity. The proposal was 
 again declined — the lady stating that she had understood 
 that Morgan was a rogue,— that great pains had been tal;cii 
 
LETTER XV. 163 
 
 to secure him, — and she did not wish to let a rogue out. 
 Lawson pressed his request importunately, and ofiered to 
 leave fifty or a hundred dollars in pledge, to bring her hus- 
 band off harmless, if she consented. Bat she was inexora- 
 ble, and he again went away. While these proceedings 
 were going on without the debtor's apartment, Morgan him- 
 self seems to have had some misgivings as to the motive of 
 the proffered kindness — observing to a fellow prisoner, "that 
 " should that man [Law^son,] prove a traitor to him, he would 
 "^not give much for his lite." The applicant soon after- 
 wards returned once more to the jail, accompanied by Col. 
 Sawyer, and both urged Mrs. Hall again, very strongly, to 
 receive the money, and release the prisoner. Being still 
 resolutely refused, they went away in pursuit, as they said, 
 of Cheseboro, whom Mrs. Hall knew as the plaintiff in the 
 suit. On following them to the door, Mrs. H. sav/ two men 
 near by, one of whom proved to be Cheseboro himself. On 
 coming up to the jail, he directed her to let Morgan go, as 
 these men, he said, would pay the amount of the execution, 
 and he wanted no more of him. The money having been 
 counted down, Mrs. Hall took the keys, and was going to 
 release the prisoner, when Lawson interposed, and said he 
 would go with her — stepping at the door at the same time, 
 and giving a shrill whistle. Mrs. H., again looking out of 
 the door herself, perceived a man, whom she had seen with 
 Lawson at an earlier hour of the evening, coming towards 
 the steps. On reaching the outer door of the prison. Law- 
 son told her, as they entered, that she need not lock that af- 
 ter them ; but there were other prisoners in custody, and 
 she insisted upon doing it. She unlocked the door of Mor- 
 gan's apartment, and Lawson, calling to him, directed him 
 to hasten, and dress himself quickly. On coming out of the 
 cell, Lawson took him by the arm, though not in an unfriend- 
 ly or forcible manner, and they departed. Before Mrs. H. 
 liad secured the fastenings of the prison, however, she heard 
 
164 LETTER XV. 
 
 the cry of " murder," and hurrying to the door, saw Mor- 
 gan between Lawson and the other man, who had previ- 
 ously approached the steps, at the signal of the whistling^ 
 struggling with all his might, and crying out in the most dis- 
 tressing manner. Both Lawson and the other man had 
 hold of his arms ; Morgan exerting himself in vain to get 
 loose, and crying out until his voice w'as suppressed, as if 
 by something thrust suddenly into, or placed over his mouth, 
 or across Ins throat. At this time, and while they were 
 dragging him away, Chcseboro and Sawyer were standing 
 near by, without showing any concern in the transaction, 
 w^liich was passing before them. Morgan having been tak- 
 en out of sight, a violent rap with a stick, was made upon 
 the curb of a well, and a carriage drove past, following in 
 the direction taken by those who had dragged him away. 
 Immediately after the carriage passed, Chcseboro and Saw« 
 yer went off in the same direction — the latter picking up 
 and taking with him the hat of Morgan, which had been 
 lost in the ailray. It likewise appeared, from the evidence 
 of a woman, who resided opposite the jail, that sundry men 
 had been walking, sitting, and standing, about the premises, 
 during a great part of the evening, appearing to be much 
 engaged in consultations, which were carried on in an un- 
 der-tone of voice. Among these men she recognized Chcse- 
 boro, Sawyer, and a man named Chauncey Coe. This 
 woman likevv^ise heard the cries of distress, as of one in peril- 
 ous circumstances ; and from tlie suspicious conduct of the 
 persons before mentioned, had apj^rised her husband of her 
 apprehensions that all was not right. After the noise upon 
 the well-curb, she saw the carriage of Mr. Hubbard, with 
 his gray horses — it was a bright moon-light night — driving 
 down the street, in the direction taken by the men, it being 
 at the time empty ; but it soon re-passed, taking the direc- 
 tion to Rochester, having several persons in it. These facts 
 were all distinctly corroborated by other deponents. One 
 
LETTER XV. 165 
 
 of tell], Oil iieariiig tJie noise, went to the door, and seeing 
 the struggle, stepped up to Col. Sawyer, who was a little 
 behind, and inquired what w^as the matter ? To which he 
 replied : — " Nothing, only a man just let out of jail, has 
 " been taken on a warrant,- and is going to be tried." Saw- 
 yer being a respectable man, the answer was satisfactory- 
 The statement of Hubbard himself was, that he had been 
 engaged by a man whom he did not know, to take, a party 
 in his carriage to Rochester, on the night in question ; — he 
 expecting them to start from Kingsley's tavern. At about 
 9 o'clock in the evening, however, a man came and stated 
 to him, that the party had gone down the road towards Pal- 
 myra, and would get in when he overtook them. He there- 
 upon drove down the road past the jail, as requested, until 
 he saw several men in the street, w^ho directed him to stop. 
 He did so, and five or six of them got into the carriage, 
 directing him to turn round, and proceed to Rochester. 
 Stopping but twice on the way, they arrived in Rochester 
 at about the dawning of the day, but passed immediately 
 through that town, and proceeded to Hanford's Landing, 
 three miles below, where he understood it to be the de- 
 sire of the party to obtain a vessel. He drove about 
 eighty rods beyond Hanford's, towards the ridge road, 
 w^here he stopped — there being no house nearer than Han- 
 ford's. His party alighted here, in the road, near to a piece 
 of woods. He then turned about and drove back to Ro- 
 chester, — meeting two carriages, even thus early, one of 
 which was of a green or cinnamon color, — and thence pro- 
 ceeded home, — not knowing either of the party w^ho had 
 ridden with him ; nor received any pay; nor observed any 
 violence practised towards any one of the company. 
 
 Such was the information obtained by the investigations 
 at Canandaigua ; and it may readily be imagined that a de- 
 Velopement of facts so extraordinary in themselves, was httle 
 calculated to allay the excitement now rapidly enkindling 
 
166 LETTER XV. 
 
 in Batavia, and the country adjacent. Although there was 
 no positive testimony that Morgan had been carried away 
 in the carriage, which made the unusual night-ride from Ca- 
 nandaigua to Rochester and Hanford's Landing, yet the 
 circumstantial evidence was so strong as to leave no ra- 
 tional doubt that he had been spirited away, in the manner 
 related. The circumstances of the transaction assumed a 
 more alarming character, and a darker shade of suspicion 
 was cast around them, at every new disclosure. It had 
 already been ascertained, that, when the attack upon Mil- 
 ler's office was to have been made, on the night of the 8th 
 of September, there was a party of fifteen or twenty men, 
 connected with the conspiracy, assembled at a tavern four 
 miles west of Batavia, who had come all the way from Buf- 
 falo ; a large party had gathered at Stafford, six miles east, 
 composed of men from many quarters, — some of them even 
 from Canada. These had marched into the village, through 
 different parts of which squads were distributed. Others 
 had gathered there from Lockport and its vicinity. And 
 the occurrences and discoveries made at Canandaigua, pro- 
 ved, very satisfactorily, that, in that village, and in Roches- 
 ter also, there w^ere men of character and respectability, 
 intimately associated with, and some of them active agents 
 in, these transactions. It was therefore clear, that the con- 
 spiracy was widely extended, comprehending in its ranks 
 men high in the confidence of the public, and against whose 
 good names the breath of scandal had hitherto never whis- 
 pered a reproach. These facts began to arrest the deep 
 attention of the public. A fellow citizen, an American free- 
 man, guilty of no crime within the cognizance of the laws 
 of the land, and living under their protection, had been re- 
 moved from among them by means unknown, and in a man- 
 ner unexampled in the annals of the nation. He had been 
 kidnapped in the face of day, under the disguise of the law, 
 and held in duress by its forms, until the arrangements for 
 
LETTER XV. 167 
 
 his abduction were completed ; after which he had been 
 hurried mysteriously away, and left among men unknown, 
 under circumstances of time and place, awakening the 
 strongest suspicions that the crime of murder had probably 
 been added to the other outrages that had been witnessed. 
 Under this aspect of the case, a public meeting was con- 
 vened at Batavia, on the 25th of September, and another on 
 the 4th of October. These meetings were numerously at- 
 tended, and their proceedings were of an impressive char- 
 acter. The very fact, perhaps, of the poverty, and low 
 standing of the victim, contributed essentially to the inter- 
 est of the occasion, and the determination of the people to 
 ascertain his fate, and, if possible, avenge his wrongs. 
 The facts laid before the meeting were such as caused tlie 
 lightning of popular indignation to flash from the eyes of the 
 assembled multitude. It did not — it could not appear — that 
 all those who belonged to the masonic fraternity, were con- 
 cerned in the conspiracy. Many of the most respectable 
 of these were among the foremost in resenting the outrage 
 upon the laws, and demanding an investigation. But it did 
 appear, that all those engaged in the conspiracy, so far as 
 the facts had been ascertained, were Freemasons — the most 
 zealous and active of the order. And there were not 
 wanting those amongst them, who ridiculed these manifesta- 
 tions of the public feehng, and added to the public indigna- 
 tion, by laughing at their anxiety to ascertain what had been 
 done with the absentee. A committee of ten highly respect- 
 able citizens was appointed by the meeting, with instructions 
 to follow up the investigations that had been commenced^ 
 in order, if possible, to discover the person of Morgan, if 
 living, or his body if dead, and bring the guilty to punish- 
 ment. This committee entered upon the immediate dis- 
 charge of its duties, and published a notice to the public, 
 briefly setting forth the nature of the outrage that had been 
 committed — acknowledging the fears entertained tii9.t Mor- 
 
168 LETTER XV. 
 
 gaii had been murdered, but expressing a "hope, at the same 
 time, that he might only have been kept in conceahnent, or 
 imprisoned in Canada — and caHing upon the people gene*- 
 rally to assist, by the discovery, if possible, of the victim, in 
 allaying such painful apprehensions. The committee like- 
 wise sent an agent to make inquiries along the road from 
 Hanford's Landing to Lewiston and Niagara. 
 
 On the 2d of October, the committee appointed at the first 
 meeting of the citizens at Batavia, addressed a letter to Gov. 
 Clinton,- enclosing him a copy of the proceedings of that 
 meeting, together with the depositions which had been tak- 
 en at Canandaigua. In that letter, the committee invoked 
 the prompt interposition of the governor, that a speedy and 
 vigorous investigation might be had. '• The excitement 
 "which pervades the people in this section of the state," say 
 the committee, " for many miles around, has assumed an ap^ 
 " pearance which we think is a just subject of alarm — an ex- 
 " citement which it will be difficult to restrain or allay, un- 
 " less the cause be investigated and removed." They there- 
 fore prayed the governor " to take such measures as might 
 " be within his prerogative to redress private wrongs, secure 
 "individual rights, and restore public peace and tranquil- 
 " lity." This letter was received by Gov. Clinton on the 
 6th ; and on the following day his excellency transmitted 
 to Mr. Talbot, chairman of the committee at Batavia, his 
 first proclamation upon this subject, — setting forth the evils 
 to be apprehended from such violations of the public peace 
 as those complained of, and enjoining it upon the state offi- 
 cers and ministers of justice to pursue all proper and effi- 
 cient measures, for the apprehension of the offenders, and 
 <:ommanding the co-operation of the people in maintaining 
 the ascendancy of the laws.* This proclamation was en- 
 closed in a private letter, of which I find the following draft 
 among the papers of that l^mentec} man : — 
 
 * Vide appendix, D. 
 
LETTER XV. 169 
 
 " Albamj, Itli of October, 1826. 
 *^ Gentlemen, 
 
 " I received your communication yesterday, by Mr. 
 Evans, and after mature deliberation, I have come to the 
 conclusion that the enclosed paper, which you are authoris- 
 ed to publish, will answer the purpose of maintaining the 
 peace and good order of the community. Indeed, I do not 
 see how I can interfere to a gi'cater extent at present. 
 Any forcible opposition to the execution of the laws which 
 cannot be put down by the civil authority, must be met in 
 another shape ; but, as it does not appear that any such 
 has been exhibited, and I trust that none will be, the ma- 
 gistrates of the county must proceed, in the ordinary 
 t^hannels of justice, to arrest the oilenders, to vindicate the 
 rights, and to protect the property, liberty, and persons, of 
 individuals, and to maintain the ascendency of the laws : 
 and if there should prove to be any delinquency on this 
 occasion, measures suitable to such default will be prompt- 
 ly pursued. 
 
 " As it appears that the principal offenders are known, I 
 have not thought it necessary to offer any specific reward 
 for their detection and apprehension ; but I am willing to 
 pay any reasonable and necessary expenses that may be 
 incurred for those purposes. Deeply regretting, and en- 
 tirely condemning the outrages of which you complain, 
 nothing shall be wanting on my part, that is due to the oc- 
 casion, and the emergency. Nothing can justify a resort 
 to personal violence, or an aggression upon the peace of 
 society ; and no person can be punished for his acts, how- 
 ever deplorable or depraved, except by the legitimate 
 authorities of the country. I am, &c. 
 
 « DE WITT CLINTON. 
 •' To Tkeodore F. Talbot, and others, 
 
 " A Committee in behalf of the citizens of Genesee 
 •• countv.*- 
 
 ^2 
 
170 3.ETTER XV. 
 
 The effect of the meetings at Batavia, In directing the 
 pubhc attention to the subject, was prodigious. Every man 
 who atteiided them, returned to lids home in a high degree 
 of excitement, communicating his feelings to his neighbors, 
 who, in turn, imparted like feelings to others, until, like the 
 spreading fires which sometimes sweep with irresistabk 
 and desolating fury over the wide prairies of the west, that 
 whole district of country was agitated by an unappeasable 
 spirit of indignation. The example of convoking pubhc 
 meetings was followed in many other places, particularly 
 in the counties of Livingston, Ontario, Monroe, and Niaga- 
 ra, in each of which similar committees were appointed^ 
 and the deternfiination w^as nearly universal, that the mys- 
 tery should be probed to the bottom.* 
 
 Unhappily, however, a very different feeling pervaded 
 the bosoms of a portion of the masonic fraternity, which 
 was but ill-concealed ; nay, this counter-feeling was fre- 
 quently and openly avowed. I have already more than in- 
 timated this disgraceful, and, to me, exceedingly painful 
 fact ; and in order to a just understanding of the case, and 
 to show how^ it happened that the public mind became 
 w^rought up to so higii a pitch of exasperation against the 
 w^hole masonic fraternity, not only tliere, but elsewhere, 
 without discrimination, or distinction of persons, it is neces- 
 sary that 1 should be more specific. It is unquestionably 
 true, then, that those of the fraternity who were directly 
 accessary to the abduction, so far from countenancing the 
 generous and righteous spirit which had gone forth, either 
 openly justified the act, or treated the matter w^ith levity 
 and ridicule. Even the distress of Mrs. Morgan was scout- 
 ed by them, not only in conversations, but repeatedly in the 
 
 ♦ 0epiTta!ions from these committees subsequcDtly assembled at Lewis- 
 ton, as a convention, and franud the < eh hmt(>d rej,oit of the facts which 
 had been ehcited by their exertions. That report was drawn up with jirrat 
 care, and the ociu^ral accuracy of its statements has stood the test of the 
 most rigid examination. To its pages [ ihall have frequent recourse in com- 
 piling the present uurritlivc. 
 
LETTER XV. 171 
 
 public newspapers ; — in many of which the whole subject 
 was treated as a hoax, while by far the greatest number, it 
 was passed over in comparative silence. Cheseboro had at 
 one time declared that " Morgan had gone where Miller 
 ** would never see him again." We have the evidence of 
 the Rev. Mr. Barnard, of the baptist denomination, whose 
 veracity is unquestioned, that previously to the abduction, 
 when the publication was talked of, a Royal Arch Mason, 
 then, also, a clergyman, in good standing, remarked, ^'^ that 
 *^ Morgan's writing Masonry was the greatest piece of de- 
 " pravity he ever knew ; that some measures must be taken 
 *' to stop it ; that he would be one of a number to put him 
 ^* out of the way ; that God looked upon the institution with 
 " so much complacency, that he would never bring the per- 
 "petrators to light." &c. After the abduction, and while 
 ids fate was a matter of doubt, Mr. Barnard states that the 
 Masons in that neighborhood, justified the abduction, and 
 tfie murder also, — ^should a murder have taken place« A 
 meeting of the Covington Lodge, to which Mr, R beio^iged, 
 having been called, for the purpose of coi>certing measures 
 of agreement among the fraternity, Mr. B. attended, and ex- 
 pressed his abhorrence at the conduct of their brethren, in 
 this matter. His rebuke at once kindled the lodge with an- 
 ger, and he was scandalously assailed witli abuse. A 
 Knight Templar present, declared, that i ' Morgan had been 
 writing Masonry, and if his throat had been cut, and his 
 tongue torn out by the roots, &c., he could not complain in 
 liot having justice done him. For dissenting with firmness, 
 from such horrible principles, EJder B. was expelled. Gan- 
 son, who has so often been mentioned, jeered at the commit- 
 tee, and told them, " that if they could hang, draw and 
 " quarter all the Masons who liad a hand in his abduction, 
 "they could not get him back.;" he declared that " he was 
 " not dead, but was put where he would stay put, until God 
 •^ Almighty should call for him," A public officer at Buf- 
 
172 
 
 LETTER XV 
 
 falo, declared his astonishment that Miller should have been 
 permitted to proceed so far — (as far only as they then sup^ 
 posed he had,) — in printing the book, adding, " that should 
 " Morgan come there, there were twenty men who would 
 " take his life in less than half an hour." In the town of 
 Attica, a Mason, who had been a member of the legislature, 
 said : — " If tliey are publishing the true secrets of Mason- 
 " ry^ he should not think the lives of half a dozen such men 
 " as Morgan and Miller of any consequence in suppressing 
 "the work." A Mason in Le Roy, a physician, and for- 
 merly a sherifl' of the county, declared, that " the book should 
 " be suppressed, if it cost every one of them their lives." 
 A magistrate of the same town openly declared, that " if he 
 " could catch Pdorgan on the bridge in the night, he w^ould 
 " find the bottom of that mill-pond" — pointing to one near 
 by. A judge of the court of Genesee county, remarked, 
 that " whatever Morgan's fate might have been, he deserv- 
 " ed it — he had forfeited his life." A Royal Arch Mason in 
 Le Roy, declared, " that Morgan deserved death, and ho 
 " hoped he had received it" — " a common death," he added 
 " was too good for him." Another magistrate, always count- 
 ed a worthy citizen, asked — " What can you do ? what can 
 *' a cat do with a lion ? who are your judges ? who are your 
 " sheriifs ? and who will be your jurymen ?" The mem- 
 bers of the committee were ironically asked — "have you 
 " found Morgan yet V They were assured that their ef- 
 forts would be unavailing. Gentlemen were cautioned 
 against acting on the committees ; and were openly told, 
 that whatever the Masons might have done with Morgan, 
 it was all right — it was a matter of concern to none but 
 themselves ; that they had a right to deal with their own 
 members according to their own laws, &c. Such, sir, was 
 the language — not, by any means, of all — but of far too 
 many members of the fraternity, in the region where the 
 outrage was committed. Nor were these remarks, and 
 
LETTER XV. ' 173 
 
 thousands of others of similar and shocking import, confined 
 to a single neighborhood, or spoken in a corner, as you 
 will have seen. And as these facts and declarations were 
 repeated from mouth to mouth, and spread abroad over the 
 face of the land, is it strange, that the excitement should 
 have been created, — that the anger of the people should 
 have been stirred up, — that their wrath should have burnt 
 like a furnace ? Nay, sir, would it not have been far more 
 strange, among a people like the American, if such a spirit 
 had not been awakened ? It was a " blessed spirit," as it 
 was once emphatically declared to be, by the gentleman 
 who at the present time is governor of New- York. True, 
 it is deeply to be regretted, that in the progress of the ex- 
 citement, it was carried to such extremes, and that the pub- 
 lic vengeance was so far directed against the innocent as 
 well as the guilty. Allowance, however, is to be made for 
 the people, from the peculiarity of the case. The authors 
 of the outrage were active Freemasons, and it was in their 
 zeal for the safety of that institution, as they openly avowed, 
 that they had done this thing. The great body of the peo- 
 ple, who had been aroused into action upon this occasion, 
 were not Masons. They knew nothing of the constitution 
 of the society. They only knew that its proceedings were 
 veiled in impenetrable secrecy, — of such societies the peo- 
 ple are always jealous, — and they supposed that once a 
 Mason, always a Mason. They had no idea that more than 
 two thirds of those who have taken the degrees, speedily 
 relinquish their attendance and membership ; and that, for- 
 getting, soon afterwards, what little they have imperfectly 
 learned, they fall back among the people, and remain, in 
 fact, during the whole after-course of their lives. Masons 
 merely in name, without retaining a sufficient knowledge of 
 the mighty mysteries, to work themselves into an Entered 
 Apprentices' Lodge. These were facts which the uninitia- 
 
w 
 
 174 LETTER XV. 
 
 fed, forming the great mass of the people, could not know 
 or comprehend. Hence, in their denunciations of the se- 
 cret crime they were now endeavoring to disclose and 
 avenge, they very naturally included the whole body ; — 
 the more readily, beyond a doubt, because of the silly 
 boastings of weak members of the brotherhood, in regard 
 to the extent, the power, the influence, and the universal 
 identity of the masonic institution, in all ages and countries, 
 and under all circumstances, together with its universal 
 knowledge of all things connected with it. Worse conse- 
 quences followed still. Aspiring politicians seized upon the 
 opportunity to convert a high and holy feeling of indigna- 
 tion, to the purposes of their political advancement. The 
 ])eople were stimulated on the one hand to push matters to 
 the extremes of persecution ; and persecution, in any cause, 
 begets opposition. The next, and a necessary consequence, 
 was to arouse the feelings of the whole fraternity, and, with 
 few exceptions, array the innocent and the guilty in the 
 same ranks. 
 
 While the storm of popular fury was only directed against 
 the heads of the guilty, the inactive and merely nominal 
 members were bidding it roll on ; but when the anathe- 
 mas of the assailants began to be hurled in a spirit of bitter 
 and vindictive persecution, against all those, without any 
 discrimination, (unless by public renunciations they confes- 
 sed themselves to have been either knaves or fools,) whQhad 
 (^ver entered a lodge-room, they rallied in defence of their 
 own rights. Thus hundreds, and perhaps thousands of 
 Masons, rose up in opposition to Anti-masonry, some of 
 them even mounting the apron again, who, but for the belief 
 that they were persecuted, and for a spirit that would not 
 brook being trampled on, would have bidden the Anti-masons 
 God-speed, without the thought of ever crossing the thresh- 
 hold of a masonic temple again. Still, it will appear in 
 
LETTER XVr. 175 
 
 the developemGnts of this history, that the pubHc had but 
 too frequent cause to continue their jealousy and hatred of 
 Free-masonry. 
 
 But I forbear. This digression is probably too long al- 
 ready. I have been drawn into it, in this place, rather un- 
 awares. It is, however, a just view of this feature of the 
 case ; and from it I trust you will perceive, that, even in 
 the early stages of the excitement, the faults were not alto- 
 gether upon one side. Could the entire body of Free-ma- 
 sons, who were as ignorant as myself of the whole Morgan 
 business, until months after it transpired, have looked upon 
 the matter as I have uniformly done, I can but think that the 
 result, so far as it respects the public and political tranquili- 
 ty of those portions of the country where Masonry and 
 Anti-masonry have come into colhsion, would have been 
 widely different from what we have seen. 
 
 I am, sir, very truly yoprs.* 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 10, 1832i 
 Sm, 
 
 All traces of Morgan had been lost at Hanford's Land- 
 ing ; and the hope, for a time entertained, that he rtiight 
 even yet reappear, when his kidnappers should have either 
 succeeded, or failed, in their attempts to suppress his booL 
 either by compromise or intimidation, had disappeared. 
 And yet, regardless of the deep manifestations of public 
 feeling around, and the tempest breaking fearfully in all di- 
 rections over them — with a fatuity illustrating most fully 
 the Roman maxim, that the Deity first afflicts with mad- 
 nes those whom he intends to destroy, — the authors of the 
 mischief were still exulting in the belief that tbcir great ob- 
 
176 LETTER XVI. n 
 
 ject had been accomplished, and that the wonderful revela- 
 tions which were to have buried all the wisdom of Solomon 
 beneath the ruins of the masonic temple, had been effectu- 
 ally suppressed. It was at this crisis, when the Masons 
 were reposing in fancied security, and ridiculing the efforts 
 of the various committees of investigation, now in full ac- 
 tion, that, of a sudden, the hated work, to suppress which, 
 so much pains had been taken, so much time and money ex- 
 pended, and so many crimes committed, — was issued forth 
 to the world. It purported to be a complete and entire re- 
 velation of the secrets of the first three degrees of Free- 
 masonry, and was accompanied with a notice that the il- 
 lustrations of the higher degrees, would be shortly forth- 
 coming. The discomfiture of the conspirators was com- 
 plete ; their chagrin unspeakable ; their anger without 
 bounds ; — and many and bitter were the imprecations 
 showered upon the head alike of author and publisher. 
 
 It forms no part of the task I have assumed, to discuss 
 the claims which these revelations have to entire authentici- 
 ty. Upon this point the public were probably enabled to 
 draw a tolerably correct conclusion, from the unparalleled 
 exertions made by the fraternity, in the first instance, to 
 suppress, and when that end had failed, to discredit them. 
 The distant masonic associations, moreover, were taught 
 to believe there was danger to be apprehended from these 
 disclosures, by the arrival of confidential messengers from 
 the officers of the Grand Lodge of New- York, with an ad- 
 ditional check-word, to guard the lodges from the intrusion 
 of " Morgan Masons," as the readers of his book were called. 
 This check-word I have never received as a Mason ; but 
 I am told the fraternity have not been strong enough to keep 
 it, and that it is published, among other precious secrets, in 
 " Allyn's Ritual." If these circumstances do not fix the 
 character of the revelations in question, perhaps a still 
 stvonorer inference mav be drawn from the fact, that Mor- 
 
LETTER XVI. 177 
 
 gan, whether dead or living, was every where, by the united 
 voice of Masonry, denounced as a perjured traitor to 
 the institution. He could not have been a traitor, if his 
 revelations v^ere fictions, but only an impostor upon the pub- 
 lic, as the world believed the author of " Jachin and Boaz" 
 to have been* 
 
 But in any event, although Morgan has been canonized, 
 as it were, by the writers upon Anti-masonry, yet I cannot 
 help looking upon his conduct as most unjustifiable and 
 wicked. If he had actually received the first three de- 
 grees within the doors of a regularly constituted lodge, he 
 was certainly bound by the strongest possible considera- 
 tions, to maintain his promises inviolate, unless, as some of 
 the anti-masonic writers have falsely contended, those pro- 
 mises were extorted by coercion, in which case of course, 
 they had no vaUdity ; or, unless the faithful performance 
 of such promises, should become unlawful. Thus, if he 
 were summoned into a court of justice, and the due execu- 
 tion of the civil law required of him the disclosure of the 
 secrets of the order, he would be relieved from the inferior 
 obligation. Nay, it would be his duty to disclose the se- 
 crets. And here, as one of the objections to the order of 
 Masonry itself, the advice of Paley is directly to the pur- 
 pose — " never to give a promise which may interfere in the 
 " event with duty ;" " for," says he, " if it do so interfere, 
 " the duty must be discharged, though at the expense of the 
 ** promise, and not unusually of good name." Paley thus 
 sustains my view of the case, in its fullest extent. But, set- 
 ting aside his oaths, which, being extra-judicial, I am dispo- 
 sed to treat only in the light of solemn promises, or vows, 
 his violation of them, as such, cannot be justified, unless, 
 from the strongest convictions of his conscience and judg- 
 ment, he was persuaded that the promises were in them- 
 selves unlawful. " The guilt of such promises," says the 
 
 ethical philosopher just quoted, " lies in the making, not in 
 
 23 
 
178 LETTER XVI. 
 
 " the breaking, of them ; and if, in the interval betwixt the 
 *^ promise and the performance, a man so far recover his 
 " reflection, as to repent of his engagements, he ought cer- 
 " tainly to break through them." But no such case of con- 
 science could have arisen with Morgan, so long as he con- 
 tinued to practise the social and benevolent duties inculca- 
 ted upon him as a Mason, unmingled with any of its abuses, 
 or, so long as he had perceived no abuses to charge upon 
 the order — and I have never heard that he alledged any ; — 
 "for," says the same standard authority, "a promise cannot be 
 " deemed unlawful, where it produces, when performed, no 
 " effect, beyond what would have taken place, had the pro- 
 " mise never been made." This rule may be considered a 
 sound one, except perhaps, in a class of extreme cases, of 
 which Morgan's was not one. His case, besides, was nei- 
 ther of these, nor was he prompted to the disclosure by the 
 burden of secret- oaths which he abhorred. On the contra- 
 ry, he was actuated by two of the worst passions which 
 infest the human heart — avarice, and revenge. The fact 
 in respect to the latter point, I have established in a former 
 communication. It will be equally easy to prove the other 
 point ; and not only that, but to show, that in using the 
 means of obtaining the lucre he coveted, he was at the same 
 time desirous of escaping public responsibility, by a resort 
 to the same secret oaths which have been so violently con- 
 demned. His feelings of vengeance had been aroused by 
 his exclusion from the Batavia chapter ; and in gratifying- 
 this passion, he saw, or thought he saw, a sure and certain 
 " way to wealth." Accordingly, amongst the papers found 
 when his premises were first searched, was a written oath, 
 or obligation, subscribed, and certified to have been sworn 
 to by his partners in the proposed publication, wherein they 
 solemnly promised and swore, on the Holy Evangelists of 
 Almighty God, not to communicate or make known, in any 
 manner, to any person or persons in the known world, the 
 
LETTER XVI. 179 
 
 intentions of their principal to publish a book upon the sub- 
 ject of Masonry, " neither by writing, marking, or by insin- 
 " uations," or in any other manner whatsoever. There was 
 likewise found among the papers, a bond executed to Mor- 
 gan, by Miller, Russel Dyer, and John Davids, his three 
 partners in the work, in the penal sum of five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars, conditioned for the payment of one fourth part 
 of the money that should be received from the sales of the 
 book. There was, moreover, another paper, being the copy 
 of a letter purporting to have been addressed to these part- 
 ners, by which it appeared that they already had had a 
 quarrel, in anticipation of the division of the profits to 
 arise from the sale of the publication. A copy-right was 
 taken out for the work, and it was supposed that the sales 
 would inevitably be enormous. Indeed, Ketchum, in his 
 conversations with Mrs. Morgan, during the journey to Ca- 
 nandaigua, told her that if her husband had managed the 
 business with discretion, he might have realized a million of 
 money. Such, undoubtedly, were the excited expectations 
 of the parties themselves. 
 
 I repeat therefore, that Morgan has no claims to the hon* 
 ors of martyrdom, on the score of moral obligation. The 
 motives for his disclosures were clearly sordid and base ; 
 and his conduct in making them was consequently in every 
 sense unjustifiable. If he was a true Mason, his revela- 
 tions were so many violations of confidence, faith, honor, 
 and, which is above, and over all — of truth. " Confidence 
 *' in promises," says Paley, " is essential in the intercourse of 
 " human life ; because, without it, the greatest part of our 
 *• conduct would proceed upon chance. But there could bo 
 " no confidence in promises, if men were not obliged to per- 
 " form them ; the obligation therefore to perform promises, 
 " is essential, to the same ends, and in the same degree." 
 •' There is no vice," says lord Bacon, *• that doth so cover 
 " a man with shame, as to be found false and perfidious." 
 
18^ LETTER XVI. 
 
 The case of other members of the masonic fraternity, 
 however, who have disclosed the secrets of the institution, 
 or borne testimony to the general accuracy of Morgan's 
 illustrations, as for instance, of the members of the Le Roy 
 convention, to be more particularly mentioned hereafter, is 
 widely different from that of Morgan. So, also, in respect 
 of many clergymen, and other pious individuals, who have 
 taken the same course. These gentlemen, as we are bound 
 to believe, have acted from a high and powerful sense of 
 moral and religious duty. They have seen that a succession 
 of lawless outrages, ending, most probably, in the perpetra- 
 tion of a great crime, have been committed by Masons, act- 
 ing avowedly as such. They have likewise seen Masons, on 
 the stand, maintaining that the masonic is of higher powder 
 than the civil obligation. And they have been made to believe 
 — whether truly or not, does not affect the moral character 
 of the case — they have been made conscientiously to believe, 
 that the crimes which they have seen, or of which they have 
 heard, have sprung from the nature and principles of the in- 
 stitution itself; and that those crimes are not only sanction- 
 ed, but in certain emergencies, required by its obliga- 
 tions. Hence they have renounced, and denounced, and 
 concurred in the exposure of these alledged obligations, 
 with the view of aiding in the destruction of an institution, 
 frau^jht, as they have recently been taught to believe, with 
 so much iniquity. Nor, if we come to the point of strict 
 construction, have they disclosed any secrets, since those 
 things can scarcely be called secret, which are published in 
 thousands of shapes and forms, to the whole world. But 
 even were it otherwise, those late, or remaining members 
 of the order, of whom I am now speaking, under the cir- 
 cumstances supposed, would find a sufficient warrant for 
 the course they have taken, upon sound principles of moral 
 philosophy. For, says the reverend and learned John 
 Brown, " in all vows and promissory oaths, the matter must 
 
LETTER XVI. 181 
 
 *' be both lawful and expedient, and in our power to per- 
 " form, and the end must be to glorify God." " Nothing," 
 says the same writer, " can be more manifest than that 
 " we may bind ourselves to what is just and lawful, to neces- 
 " sary duties ; and that though a promise, oath, or vow, 
 " cannot bind to sin, yet in any thing not sinful, being taken, 
 *' it binds to performance." But, " no command requiring, 
 " or bond engaging, to any thing sinful, can include in it 
 " any real or valid obligation T In such matters, a man's 
 conscience must of course prescribe the line of duty. 
 
 I have touched upon this branch of the subject, as con- 
 nected with its consideration ; but have not thought it ne- 
 cessary to go further and deeper into the discussion of the 
 questions of moral obligation which it involves. In some 
 new treatise on moral philosophy, it is not improbable that 
 the nature of masonic oaths, and the validity or invalidity 
 of the obligations they impose, may be learnedly and logic- 
 ally discussed, by some unprejudiced and enlightened wri- 
 ter. I am aware that a strong argument may be made, and 
 sustained by the opinions of the highest uninspired authors, 
 who have treated of the duty of man; from Cicero down to 
 Archdeacon Paley, to prove that masonic obligations are 
 not only imperfect, but actually void. And I am not pre- 
 pared to say, that the same conclusion may not be drawn 
 more directly and forcibly from the literal commands and 
 prohibitions of the sacred writings, taken as the sole basis 
 of morals. I am also aware, that the binding force of an 
 oath, by w^hich the juror pledges himself not to do a parti- 
 cular act, has been discussed in our legal tribunals. The 
 states of New- York and Virginia passed laws, requiring all 
 who sought admission to the bar, or who were appointed to 
 any civil office, to take and subscribe the oath against duel- 
 ling. It has been found expedient to expunge these laws 
 from the statute-books of both states ; and the inference is, 
 that even such an obligation, though bearing the sanction of 
 
182 LETTER XVII. 
 
 a judicial oath, was considered as doubtful, imperfect, or 
 dangerous in its nature. But such an abstract investigation 
 is foreign to the purpose of these letters, or, at least, unes- 
 sential to it. 
 
 However base and perfidious Morgan's conduct had been 
 towards the masonic fraternity, it affords not the slightest 
 justification for their outrages upon his property, or his rights 
 of life and liberty. We live in a land of law, as well as of 
 liberty : and to the laws we are all amenable for our good 
 conduct, and by them only are we punishable for the bad. 
 Were it otherwise — were private associations of men, or 
 secret societies, formed for no matter what purpose, — allow- 
 ed to incorporate penal laws with their social regulations, 
 and permitted to execute them, there would be no longer 
 personal safety in the land ; and the secret chambers of the 
 lodge-room would become as terrible as the ear of Diony- 
 sius, or the subterranean vaults of the sacred vehme. 
 
 I am, sir, very truly your^. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 12, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 Having thus failed in the principal design of defeating 
 the publication of the disclosures, the conspirators, and their 
 friends next attempted to divert, or allay, for a term at 
 least, the tempest of popular indignation which had set in 
 with so much violence. For this purpose an intimation was 
 given out, and very rapidly and widely circulated, that the 
 disappearance and protracted absence of Morgan, was noth- 
 ing more than a ruse de guerre, to create and sustain an ex- 
 (iitemcnt, amidst the noise and alarm of which a countless 
 'number of worthless books might be sold for three or four 
 
LETTER XVII. 15^ 
 
 times their cost. The device succeeded to an extent that 
 could hardly have been anticipated by its authors ; and such, 
 for a long time, v^^as the prevailing belief, among at least 
 nine-tenths of the people of the northern states. 1 say north- 
 ern states, because I have been seriously informed, w^ithin 
 a few^ months, by gentlemen of distinguished consideration, 
 from the southern states, that, in those states, they do not, 
 many of them, even yet, believe in the reality of the causes 
 of the Anti-masonic excitement ; considering the whole story 
 of the abduction and subsequent fate of Morgan, to be a fic- 
 tion, invented solely to subserve local political objects. The 
 fact is, the atrocity of the deed was such, that men were 
 exceedingly reluctant to believe it possible that it could 
 have \)Qcn committed, in the manner, and for the paltry pur- 
 pose described, and by persons of so much respectability. 
 Beyond the immediate region of the excitement, therefore, 
 for a very long time, but little heed was paid to the clamor, 
 the murmurings of which only were heard at so great a dis- 
 tance. Masons, — I speak of the great majority who were 
 not in the secret — and those who w^ere not masons, — alike 
 believed it impossible, that a free American citizen could 
 thus be kidnapped, in open day, and carried with unlawful 
 violence, against his own consent, for hundreds of miles, 
 through a thickly settled territory, occupied, too, by a peo- 
 ple distinguished of all others in the country for their mo- 
 rals and their intelligence. That a man, under such cir- 
 cumstances, and among such a people, could thus be drag- 
 ged away into exile, and perhaps murdered, by means of 
 a conspiracy, embracing, as it was alledged to have done, 
 hundreds of such people, was too improbable a tale to ob- 
 tain ready credence ; and it w^as not believed, for many 
 months afterwards, and until confirmations strong as proofs 
 from holy writ, from hundreds of conspiring circumstances, 
 and the lips of clouds of witnesses, rendered longer disbe- 
 lief impossible. There w^ere, Likewise, a variety of other 
 
 i 
 
184 LETTER XVII. 
 
 stories afloat, during the several months to which I refer, 
 all tending to distract the public mind. Among these were 
 rumors that the absentee had been taken to Niagara, and 
 had passed over voluntarily into Canada, vs^ith an intention 
 of joining the North Western Fur Company, — he himself 
 desiring as much to remove beyond the influence of Miller, 
 as the Masons wished to have him do so. Another story was, 
 that he had been sent to Quebec, to enlist on board a ship of 
 war. And another, and yet more probable tale, arose from 
 the circumstance that within the fortnight after Morgan had 
 been taken away, a sloop was wrecked on lake Ontario, of 
 which all the crew and passengers perished. It w^as sup- 
 posed that Morgan must have been one of these passengers. 
 Indeed all were anxious to believe any thing, rather than 
 the horrible accusations against so large a number of men 
 as it was by this time known were leagued in the conspi- 
 racy. 
 
 None of these tales, however, diverted the committees in 
 the west, from the eflicient discharge of the duties devolving 
 upon them by the nature of the case. At the October term 
 of the General Sessions of the Peace, for the county of Gen- 
 esee, bills of indictment were obtained against James Gan- 
 son, Jesse French, Roswell Wilcox, and James Hurlburt, 
 for a riot, and for assaulting, and falsely imprisoning Col. 
 Miller. The finding of these indictments was the first legal 
 proceeding instituted in the Morgan business. 
 
 From tll^ 7th to the 26th of October, Governor Clinton 
 received no further information from the Batavia Commit- 
 tee. Understanding, however, from the public papers, that 
 no tidings had been heard of Morgan, and fearing, from the 
 tone of the reports from the west, that the outrages had 
 been of a much more serious and aggravated character, 
 than he had at first supposed, the Gk)vernor transmitted to 
 the committee at Batavia, his second proclamation, accom- 
 panied by the following letter :— - 
 
LETTER XVII. 185 
 
 " Albany, 2Qth October, 1826. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " Understanding that William Morgan is still missing, 
 I have thought it advisable to issue the enclosed proclama- 
 tion, offering further rev^^ards, which you will please to see 
 published in the newspapers of your, and the neighboring 
 counties, and in handbills, if you conceive it advisable. The 
 expenses of which I will pay. 
 
 " I will thank you for such further advice as in your 
 opinion may lead to a full developement of the outrageous 
 proceedings that have occurred in your vicinity. 
 " I am, gentlemen, &c. 
 
 "DE WITT CLINTON. 
 " T. F. Talbot, Esq., and others, committee, &c." 
 
 By this second proclamation, various rewards were of- 
 fered for the apprehension of the several offenders in the 
 outrages complained of, and a specific reward for the dis- 
 covery of the place to which the person of Morgan had been 
 conveyed, in order, to quote the language of the document 
 itself, " that the offenders may be brought to condign pun- 
 " ishment, and the violated majesty of the laws thereby ef- 
 " fectually vindicated." All sherilfs, magistrates, and other 
 officers, were again enjoined to activity in the discharge of 
 their duties on this occasion.* 
 
 It was early in November before this proclamation was 
 issued to the public in the region of the excitement. In the 
 mean time no little fault had been found by the people of 
 the west, because of the moderate tone of the first procla- 
 mation, and the absence of any specific reward. Complaint 
 was likewise made of the second, because of the small 
 amounts of the several rewards proposed, — the highest be- 
 ing only three hundred dollars. But at the time it was is- 
 sued, from the causes stated in the first part of this letter, 
 neither Governor Clinton, nor his advisers at Albany, could 
 
 + Videapper.dlxE. 
 
 24 
 
186 LETTER XVII. 
 
 have had any just idea of the enormity of the offence, or ot* 
 the extent of the excitement. 
 
 During the months of November and December, the ex- 
 citement continued to increase, and extend its sphere of ac- 
 tion among the people. At the November term of the 
 General Sessions of the Peace for the county of Ontario, in- 
 dictments were found against Nicholas G. Cheseboro, Loton 
 Lawson, Edward Sawyer, and John Sheldon, for a conspi- 
 racy to seize William Morgan, and carry him thence to for- 
 eign parts, and to secrete and confine him there. A second 
 indictment was likewise found against the same parties, for 
 carrying the conspiracy into execution. These indict- 
 ments, by consent of parties, w^ere sent to the Court of 
 Oyer and Terminer, to be held at Canandaigua, in January 
 then following. Meantime the committees were engaged 
 in pushing their investigations with all possible perseve- 
 rance and assiduity. In the course of their inquiries, they 
 ascertained some further particulars respecting the myste- 
 rious night-ride, from Canandaigua to Rochester, or Han- 
 ford's Landing, in no wise calculated to lessen their appre- 
 hensions for the safety of Morgan. The carriage driven by 
 Hiram Hubbard, as formerly related, stopped at the village 
 of Victor, ten miles from Canandaigua, It was first driven 
 into the yard of the tavern, kept by Dr. Thomas Beach, 
 and from thence into the yard of one Enos Gillis, in the rear 
 of the barn of the last-mentioned personage, and about for- 
 ty rods from the house of Beach, entirely out of sight of the 
 road. Among the company in some way connected with 
 this mysteriously moving carriage, which was not allowed 
 to stop where it could be seen for any time, was a man by 
 the name of James Gillis, who then resided at Montmoren- 
 cy, in Pennsylvania ; and it is supposed that his presence 
 among the conspirators affords a solution to the remark of 
 Ketchum, to Mrs. Morgan, at Canandaigua, that a man from 
 Pennsylvania had taken her husband off in a private car- 
 
LETTER XVII. 187 
 
 riage, having a warrant for him. James Gillis now took a 
 horse from his brother's stable, and proceeded forward. A 
 hostler was likewise sent to bring out a horse for Lawson, 
 whom he knew, and on returning to the tavern, he heard Dr. 
 Beach, in speaking earnestly of some one, declare : " Damn 
 him, he ought to he drawn and quarteredr James Gillis 
 was seen the next day, but disappeared immediately, and 
 was not found again for many months. Enos Gillis was ex- 
 amined before the grand jury in November, but soon after- 
 wards removed away, and never afterwards showed himself 
 in the county, or country, where it was probable he might 
 be called on to testify. Hubbard's carriage was closely 
 curtained on his way to Hanford's ; but the curtains were 
 rolled up after he had discharged his company in the road, 
 near the forest. The agents dispatched by the committee, 
 to traverse the line of the ridge road, ascertained that be- 
 fore Hubbard's carriage arrived at Rochester, which was 
 just at the breaking of the morning light, a carriage belong- 
 ing to Ezra Piatt, a Royal Arch Mason, and the keeper of 
 a livery stable, in that town, was procured and sent for- 
 ward in advance of the Canandaigua carriage, and directed 
 to stop at a sequestered place near Hanford's tavern. A 
 variety of circumstances not essential to the narrative, 
 proved, very clearly, that the carriage which started thus 
 early out of Rochester, was intended for the relief of that 
 driven from Canandaigua to Hanford's. Indeed, when cal- 
 led before the grand jury, Hubbard himself swore that the 
 party which left his carriage in the " secluded" place, got, 
 into that which had been sent from Rochester, and which, 
 after taking up his passengers, proceeded thence, on the 
 ridge road, towards the Niagara. This carriage was next 
 particularly noticed at Clarkson, fifteen miles further west, 
 in consequence of its stopping in the middle of the road, 
 while the driver alighted for a moment, and went into the 
 tavern. The carriage then proceeded on, with the curtains 
 
188 LETTER XVII. 
 
 kept close down, although it was a very warm day. Two 
 and a half miles further on, at the house of a Mr. Allen, the 
 carriage again stopped, and the horses were changed — the 
 fresh team being taken from the field where they were 
 working, for that purpose. The driver from near Han- 
 ford's to this place, soon afterwards absconded, and was not 
 heard of for a long time afterwards. The mysterious car- 
 riage, closed carefully as before, arrived at Gaines at about 
 12 o'clock at noon, on the 13th of September — passed di- 
 rectly through the village, and stopped about a mile west 
 of it, in the road, at a distance from any house. At this 
 place Eliiiu Mather came up, with a pair of horses belonging 
 to his brother, James, who lived at Gaines. These' horses 
 were placed before the closed carriage, and Mather him- 
 self, although a man of property, engaged in a good busi- 
 ness, mounted the box, and drove on, to the surprise of the 
 inhabitants along the road, who knew his circumstances. 
 On his return, he stated that he had driven the carriage for 
 his brother. When the close carriage arrived at Ridge- 
 way, a man named Jeremiah Brown, supervisor of the 
 town, and formerly a member of the legislature, suddenly 
 took his horses from ploughing in the field, fed them, and 
 placing them before the mysterious carriage, mounted the 
 box himself and drove on to Wright's tavern, nearly north 
 of the village of Lockport. At this place the carriage was 
 driven into the barn, and was so strongly guarded, as to 
 prevent any persons — and there were many collected there 
 — from holding the least communication with, or even from 
 seeing it. There was to be an installation of a chapter at 
 Lewiston, on the i4th, the day following, on which occa- 
 sion a clergyman, of Rochester, — yet in orders, unfortunate- 
 ly for the church, though in another state, — delivered the 
 address. He is represented to have given a most extraor- 
 dinary toast at the dinner of the celebration, which may be 
 noted hereafter. But it has nothing to do in this place. 
 
LETTER XVII. 189 
 
 This clergyman, however, was the only passenger in the 
 stage from Rochester for Lewiston, which preceded the 
 carriage whose progress I am tracing ; and on arriving at 
 the town of llidgeway, he stopped the stage long enough to 
 send into the field, for Brown to come to him in haste : He 
 did so, and they held a private conference. When the close 
 carriage, came along, Brown very readily and spontaneously, 
 as it were, took his horses from the plough in the field, to 
 relieve those in the harness of the carriage, as I have just 
 mentioned. There were many people at Wright's, some 
 of whom were armed, as it appeared, and it was told the 
 committee, by some one at the house, that they had had or- 
 ders to prepare a supper that night, for a number of Ma- 
 sons. The care with which the carriage was secluded, in- 
 duced some inquiries, and it was rumored about amongst the 
 people, that it contained a prisoner whom it was necessary 
 to guard. At about 10 o'clock, that night, this carriage 
 drove away from Wright's, towards Lewiston, and when 
 it arrived at Mollineaux's tavern, four miles farther on, Eli 
 Bruce, the sheriff of the county of Erie, in which they then 
 were, was with it. He went into the house, woke up the 
 landlord, and desired him to put a fresh pair of horses be- 
 fore the carriage. The son of Mr. Mollineaux opposed let- 
 ting the horses go, unless he went with them himself, as he 
 said they w^ere young, and he was opposed to placing them 
 in the hands of strangers. Bruce, however, would not list- 
 en to this, but pointing to Brown, said he had a careful driver. 
 Mather stopped at this place, and Brown drove on — re- 
 turning to Mollineaux's just before day light on the morn- 
 ing of the 14th The horses were very much exhausted, hav- 
 ing been driven twenty-six miles, as he admitted, since he 
 had taken them. The next trace of the mysterious car- 
 riage discovered by the committee, w^as the information, 
 that during that night, Bruce, with Samuel Barton, a stage 
 proprietor, called at the stage oifiGe, at Lewiston, for a car- 
 
190 LETTER XVII. 
 
 riage and horses to go to Youngstown. A driver, named 
 Corydon Fox, was called up, who harnessed a team to a 
 carriage. He then called at a tavern, as directed, for 
 Bruce, who got into the carriage, and directed him to drive 
 round into a back street, in front of Barton's dwelling house, 
 which he acordingly did. Arriving there, he found a car- 
 riage, without horses, standing in the middle of the street, 
 with the curtains closed down. Bruce here descended 
 from the carriage ; and Fox, who kept his place on the box, 
 saw a third man assist him (Bruce) in taking a man out of 
 the other carriage, and transferring him to their own. Not 
 a word, nor a whisper, was uttered during this movement, 
 and the same gloomy silence remained unbroken until they 
 reached Youngstown, six miles. At this place they stop- 
 ped in front of the house of Col. King, who was called up 
 by Bruce. While the latter was holding a conversation 
 with King, the driver thought he heard a call for water 
 from within his carriage, and Bruce replied — " Yes, you 
 shall have some," but none was brought. King now came 
 out, and entered the carriage with Bruce ; and Fox was 
 dh'ected to drive tov/ards Fort Niagara — about a mile dis- 
 tant. They stopped near the grave yard, about eighty 
 rods from the fort, towards which four persons who de- 
 scended from the carriage, directed their steps. Bruce 
 shortly turned round, and calling to Fox, dismissed him, by 
 tellinnr him to ero about his business. 
 
 vSuch, in substance, was the purport of the information 
 collected by the committee, during the months of November 
 and December. It will at once be perceived that this nar- 
 rative,* taking it in connexion with the history of the occur- 
 rences at the Canandaigua prison, as given in a former let- 
 ter, reduced it to a moral certainty, that Morgan had been 
 thrust into thd carriage, at Canandaigua, and kept in a state 
 
 * Abriilgcd from the report of the Lewiston committee. 
 
LETTER XVII. 191 
 
 of duress, until Bruce and others left the carriage near the 
 burying ground, close by the fort at Niagara, in the gloom 
 of night. This moral certainty, as it respects the identity 
 of the person who was taken from the carriage driven by 
 Fox, was increased, by his conversations, on the morning 
 of the 14th of September, with a Mason by the name of 
 Paul Mosher. In relating his night jaunt down to Youngs- 
 town, Fox stated, that when King came out of his house, on 
 stepping up to the carriage, he thought he understood him, 
 [King,] to say, " what, Morgan, are you here !" Mosher not 
 knowing what to make of the aflair, spoke successively to 
 two other Masons, who both expressed a belief that the 
 person alluded to was Morgan. And one of them com- 
 mented on the imprudence of Barton, in having sent a dri- 
 ver who was not a Mason, on such an errand. Fox, who 
 had been speaking of the circumstances about the village 
 of Lewiston, was admonished to keep his own counsel, at 
 the peril of losing his place ; and within a few days after- 
 w^ards, his lips were sealed, as it was hoped, by having the 
 honors of masonry conferred upon him, free from the custo- 
 mary fees and charges. Such a step could not have been 
 taken, without a dispensation by the unanimous vote of the 
 lodge. But with all this chain of circumstantial testimony, 
 there was yet no satisfactory legal proof of the facts, which 
 had thus, beyond doubt, transpired. The story, however, 
 was told to the public, and it is not to be supposed that such 
 an excitement as had already been kindled, would burn 
 less fiercely with these additional materials for combustiom 
 The connexion of Bruce with the mysterious carriage, 
 having been thus satisfactorily established, he was ar- 
 rested on the 29th of December, and brought before a ma- 
 gistrate at Youngstown, on the charge of having forcibly, 
 and without due process of law% held William Morgan in 
 duress for some time, and having secretly and illegally con- 
 veyed him thence to parte unknown. Five witnQssfgs were 
 
192 LETTER XVlI. 
 
 examined before the magistrate, and the facts ah'eady con- 
 nected with the name of Bruce, were clearly established. 
 Bruce made neither explanations nor defence ; but as no 
 proof was adduced on the examination, that a William 
 Morgan had been forcibly seized and carried away from 
 Canandaigua or elsewhere, nor that force, violence or re- 
 straint, had been exercised upon the person of any indivi- 
 dual in the carriage, he was discharged. 
 
 On the assembling of a gi'and jury for Monroe county, 
 in this same month of December, the presiding judge of the 
 court strongly charged them to investigate the circumstan- 
 ces of the outrage, which was then the leading theme of dis- 
 course in all mouths. They called many witnesses before 
 them, but failed in eliciting any satisfactory information, al- 
 though of the number examined was Ezra Piatt, who had 
 furnished the carriage from Rochester. Edward Doyle, one 
 of the witnesses, refused to testify, lest he should criminate 
 himself. The jury found no bills ; but having ascertained 
 that Morgan had been taken through that county, they 
 made a presentment, stating that fact, from which the 
 following passage is quoted : — " From the great caution 
 ** which seems to have been observed, in keeping both Mor- 
 " gan, and the place of his destination, from the view and 
 *' knowledge of all but such persons as may have been con- 
 " fidentially entrusted with the design, and who would de- 
 ** cline giving evidence, upon the ground that it might tend 
 " to criminate themselves, the grand jury have found it im- 
 " possible to establish, by competent testimony, the unlaw- 
 '* ful agency of any citizen in this county, in that transac- 
 «tion." 
 
 Another public meeting was now called in Rochester, and 
 committees upon the subject appointed. This meeting was 
 attended by Burrage Smith, and John Whitney. A num- 
 ber of masons were placed on the committee. But it was 
 soon ascertained, by the other members, that " all their pro- 
 
LETTER XVII. 193 
 
 **■ ceedings were divulged by these masonic associates, not- 
 ** withstanding an honorary obligation to the contrary." 
 
 The sitting of the Court of Oyer and Terminer for the 
 county of Ontario, at which the first indictments were to be 
 traversed, was now approaching ; and, as the excitement 
 was very great, the District Attorney of that county, Bowen 
 Whiting, Esq., believing that if the persons indicted were 
 tried by counsel there, the public excitement would not be 
 allayed, let the result be what it might, addressed a letter 
 to Governor Clinton, on the 7th of December, making this 
 representation, and requesting the attendance and assistance 
 of the Attorney General at the trials. This letter was re- 
 ceived by the Governor on the 1 1th, and a copy thereof im- 
 mediately, on the same day, transmitted to the Attorney 
 General, as appears from the following note from the Gov- 
 ernor himself: — 
 
 ^^ Albany f llth December, 1826. 
 *' Sir, 
 
 " I enclose to you a copy of a letter from the District 
 Attorney of Ontario County, by which it appears that your 
 attendance at the Oyer and Terminer, on the 1st Monday 
 in January next, in that county, is considered highly impor- 
 tant. 
 
 " Concurring with the Circuit Judge, and the District At- 
 torney in that opinion, and hoping that you will find it not 
 inconvenient to attend on that occasion, I consider it my duty 
 lo request it. " I am, &c. 
 
 « DE WITT CLINTON, 
 ^ Samuel A. Talcott, Esq. 
 
 *^ Attorney General" 
 
 The Attorney General did not attend the trials, but for 
 what reasons I am not informed. 
 
 I havQ the honor.. &(?; 
 S5 
 
194 LE-TTiTR xyfir^ 
 
 LETTER XVUL 
 
 , New- York, Feb. 14, 183i^. 
 Sir, 
 
 The Circuit Court, and Court of Oyer and Terminer^ 
 for the county of Ontario, commenced its sittings on Mon- 
 day, January 1st, 1827. The present governor of this stated- 
 then a circuit judge, presided, associated with whom, upoi> 
 the bench, were, tlie Hon. Nathaniel W. How^ell, first judge 
 of the county, and judges Younglove, Atwater, and Brooks.^ 
 The first of that series of extraordinary trials which have 
 occupied so wide a space in our judicial annals during the 
 last five years, was now commenced, by the arraignment of 
 Cheseboro, Lawson, Sawyer, and Sheldon, on the several 
 indictments heretofore mentioned, to wliich they severally 
 pleaded not guilty. Great interest w^as manifested on this 
 occasion, by all parties.' Deputations from the diflerent 
 committees organized by popular meetings-, were in attend- 
 ance, and more than one hundred witnesses, who had been 
 subpoenaed, were present, together with an immense con- 
 course of people^ The case, in all its features, was without 
 a precedent, aad a deep' and universal anxiety existed among 
 the people, to have the dark mystery unriddled. The bar 
 presented a formidable array of counsel on the important 
 occasion, embracing most of the professional talent in that 
 region of country. The prosecution was conducted by 
 Bowcn Whiting, the District Attorney, assisted by seven 
 other counsellors, viz : John Dixon, Wm. H. Adams, J. 
 Wilson, T. F. Talbot, H. W. Taylor, O. Benjamin, and C. 
 Butler. The couiisel for the defendants were, John C. 
 Spender, M, H.- Sibley, II. F. Pcniicld, and W. HubbeU. 
 
LETTER XVIIK IDS 
 
 On Tuesday morning, the second day of the term, the 
 pubhc prosecutor moved on the trials. The first witness 
 called was David C. Miller, but to the surprise of every 
 body, it was found that he was absent. Subpoenaed by 
 both parties ; and having, borne sucii a prominent part in 
 the transactions which had so deeply agitated the commu- 
 nity, and being, moreover, €0 much interested in having .the 
 guilty punished, his absence was a matter of astonishment 
 It having been satisfactorily shown to the court, that Miller 
 was at home in Batavia, and in good health, attachments 
 were granted at the instance of toth parties, and the trials 
 were postponed, to allow time for their ircturn. 
 
 On Wednesday morning January 3d, the .motion to bring 
 on the trials was renewed, — when Ciieseboro, Sawyer, and 
 Lawson, severally withdrew their pleas of not guilty, and 
 pleaded guilty to both indictments ; — reserving the right to 
 move the court in arrest of judgment upon cither. The 
 ^counsel for Sheldon then stated that he admitted that the 
 offence charged in the indictment against Jiim, had been 
 commatted, but denied having had any participation there- 
 in. Under these circumstances the case went to trial ; but 
 4t will readily be perceived that the admissions of the de- 
 fendants only left it necessary for:the prosecution to identi- 
 fy Sheldon with the conspiracy. Of course the scope of 
 •the inquiry was greatly narrowed, ^and the interest propor- 
 tionately lessened. The particulars of the taking of Mor- 
 gan from the prison, and the active participation of Lawson, 
 :the presence of Chescboro and Sawyer, &c., was proved 
 accurately as I have related the facts in a former letter. 
 The wife of the jailor .testified, that according to the best of 
 -her knowledge and belief, the defendant at the bar, SheldoU:, 
 vvvas the same man who came to the jail with Lawson, calling 
 Jiimself Foster, and who assisted in dragging Morgan away. 
 A number of witnesses were examined to prove an alibis 
 and the testinoiony was vexy strong tliat tlie defendant ha4 
 
196 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 been sitting at Kingsley's tavern the whole evening ; that 
 he lodged there that night ; and consequently that lie could 
 have had no participation in the transactions at the jail. 
 There was, however, among the witnesses on the part of 
 the prosecution, a Mr. Green, an. inn-keeper, from Batavia, 
 who swore, positively, that the defendant came to his house 
 late in the evening of the 10th of September, took supper, 
 and lodging, and breakfasted there on the following morn- 
 ing. He, (the defendant,) entered into conversation with 
 the witness ; said that he had been suspected of having 
 kindled the fire in Miller's office, and desired him, (the wit- 
 ness) to recollect that he had lodged in his house that night. 
 The defendant talked a good deal upon the subject of Mor- 
 gan's proposed revelations, avowed himself a Royal Arch 
 Mason, and said he had been in that neighborhood several 
 days, to assist in suppressing the book. He likewise sent 
 forKclsey »Stone, with whom he held some private conver- 
 sation ; and while there wrote a letter in hieroglyphics, which 
 he addressed to General Solomon Van Rensselaer. The 
 witness, a respectable man, was very positive, as to the 
 identity of Sheldon, and, in regard to all the circumstan- 
 ces — particularly of the letter, which he saw the defendant 
 sign with his own hand, * John Shel don.' On the other hand, 
 Kelsey Stone w^as introduced as a witness in behalf of the 
 defendant, and swore, that according to his best recollec- 
 tion, he was not the man whom he had been sent to meet at 
 the house of Mr. Green, in Batavia. The person whom he 
 had there seen was a stranger, to him unknown ; but he was 
 confident Sheldon was not the man. In other respects, his 
 testimony fully confirmed that of Green. It was proved, 
 however, by the Canandaigua witnesses, that on the morn- 
 ing after Morgan had been carried away, the defendant had 
 appeared to know much about the subject. To a Mr. Pres- 
 eott, he had said, " Morgan is carried olf : I know all about 
 *♦ the business, but shall pot tell you. I know who went 
 
LETTER xrin. 197 
 
 *• into the jail after Morgan — he does not live in this village — 
 " Morgan has gone where the people of this country will ne- 
 *' ver see him ; but if his family will accept the funds which 
 " the Masons have provided for them, they will be well 
 *' enough off," The impression of the jailor's wife, that the 
 defendant and the man Foster, were one and the same per- 
 son ; the positive testimony of Green ; and confessions like 
 that which I have just quoted, from the lips of the defendant 
 himself, were too strong against him, and he was convicted. 
 Sheldon, afterwards, made a deposition, which was filed of 
 record, and in which he swore that he was not at the jail at 
 the time referred to ; that he had not been at Batavia within 
 eight years ; that he had never seen the w^itness. Green, 
 until in court on that occasion ; that he had never visited 
 the jail in company with Loton Lawson ; that he was not 
 the man whom the jailor's wife had supposed to be Foster ; 
 and that he had never seen or known William Morgan. 
 His admissions upon the subject, he also deposed, " were 
 " made in the way of romance, and from amusement only." 
 And so it afterwards appeared ; for it was by subsequent 
 disclosures clearly proved, that Sheldon was in truth and in 
 fact an innocent man, although the witness. Green, was ab- 
 solved from the imputation of perjury, from the fact which 
 afterwards appeared, that the mysterious stranger who w^as 
 at Green's house, under the circumstances mentioned, was 
 a Mr. Averill, from Orleans county, whose dress and ap- 
 pearance so strongly resembled those of Sheldon, as to 
 occasion the mistake. 
 
 Among the witnesses sworn upon this trial, were, Dur- 
 rage Smith, and John Whitney, of Rochester. Both of 
 them objected to answering any questions, because, in do- 
 ing so, they apprehended that they might criminate them- 
 selves. After being well instructed by the court, however, 
 as to their privileges, they testified in part. Smith admitted 
 that he came to Canandaigua from Rochester, on the 12th 
 
198 LETTER Xtlll. 
 
 of September. He also admitted that he saw Lawson, but 
 declined answering the question whether he had heard any 
 conversation between Lawson and others about carrying 
 Morgan away. His objection having been overruled by 
 the court, he then admitted that he did hear Lawson in con- 
 versation with three or four others, upon that subject, on 
 the side-walk, near the jail. He left Canandaigua on tlie 
 evening that Morgan was taken away, between G and 8 
 o'clock. He admitted that he was at Lewiston, attending 
 the installation of a chapter, two or three days afterwards. 
 Being asked if he saw Morgan at Fort Niagara, his counsel 
 objected to the question, and the court set it aside, as being 
 irrelevant. Whitney testified to the fact of his coming to 
 Canandaigua on the said 12th of September, in company 
 with Smith ; but declined telling at what time he departed on 
 his return, lest he should criminate himself Corydon Fox, 
 tlie stage driver from Lewiston to Youngstown, was also a 
 witness upon this trial. He testified merely" to the fact of 
 having driven a carriage, sometime in September, with 
 closed curtains, down to the river. Three or four persons 
 got out of the carriage, but he did not know tliat either, of 
 them was Morgan, or that any person in the carriage was 
 confined. He only knew one of the persons who rode with 
 him on that occasion, and that one was neither of the de- 
 fendants, 
 
 I have ali>5ady stated that Slieldon was found guilty by 
 the jury. They were absent only one hour. On Friday 
 evening, .January 5th, the counsel for the defendants moved 
 an arrest of judgment upon one of the indictments, arguing 
 lliat the defendants could not be convicted both for a con- 
 spiracy to do an unlawful act, and also for the doing of that 
 act ; and they called upon the public prosecutor to elect the 
 indictment upon which he would take judgment. After 
 ;ir,o-ument upon both sides, the court decided that judgment 
 should not be pronounced upon both indictments, but that 
 
LETTER XVlIK 19^ 
 
 in each case, as soon as it should have been pronounced 
 upon, a nolle prosscqui should be entered upon the other. 
 On the following morning, January 6th, the defendants ap- 
 peared at the bar for judgment, and several witnesses were 
 called, and examined by the public prosecutor, in aggrava- 
 tion of the case. Among these Mrs. Morgan was examined, 
 and her appearance and manner made a favorable impres- 
 sion in her behalf. But no additional facts were elicited. 
 
 Depositions were then put in by their counsel, to be heard- 
 in mitigation of their offence, by three of the defendants. 
 Cheseboro deposed that he had not seen Morgan since the 
 night of the 11th of September, when he was taken from 
 the magistrate's office by the officer who committed him to 
 prison. He knew it was intended to take Morgan away, 
 but supposed that he had consented to go freely, and he 
 w^as not aware tliat any force had been employed against 
 him. Their object was to remove him from beyond the 
 neighborhood and influence of Miller, who was, as they be- 
 lieved, inducing him to publish a book, disclosing the secrets 
 of Masonry, which they thought was calculated to bring 
 disgrace upon the order. He declared that he had had no 
 hand in any subsequent transactions in respect to Morgan ; 
 that he had been informed that Morgan had been carried 
 into the county of Monroe — since which time he had not 
 heard what had become of him, and knew not where he 
 was. But in opposition to this, it was testified by Israel B. 
 Hall, called by the prosecution, that on the morning after 
 Morgan was taken away, he called on Cheseboro to explaiit 
 the transaction. The latter replied that Morgan was where 
 Miller would not get hold of him-^he guessed he might be 
 on boax I of a ship ; but avoided giving direct answers. 
 
 Sawyer deposed that he had never seen Morgan until the 
 same evening of the 1 1th September, in the justice's office, — 
 that he had heard nothmg previously of any designs against 
 
200 
 
 LETTER XViri. 
 
 Iiirn, — that he was not aware of any intention of taking him 
 from the jail, on the evening of the 12th, until Lawson met 
 him during the evening in the street, and asked him to go 
 to the jail to persuade the jailor's wife to release Morgan, on 
 his paying the amount of the execution. He thought dur- 
 ing the w^hole time, that it was all a matter of willingness 
 and consent on the part of Morgan, to go away, until after 
 he came out into the street, when he expressed his reluc- 
 tance, and the struggle ensued, at which the deponent was 
 surprised. He did not know how much resistance Morgan 
 made, or how much force was applied to compel him to go 
 along. He was prevented from interfering by the surprise 
 into which he was thrown, but deeply regretted that he had 
 not interfered. This omission was the only criminal part 
 of his agency in the matter, with which he could reproach 
 himself. He followed after Morgan, at the distance of somo 
 rods, and saw him taken into the carriage. He concurred 
 with Cheseboro as to the motive of his removal, and declar- 
 ed that he had never seen Morgan since he entered the car- 
 riage, and knew not what had become of him. 
 
 In addition to these depositions, a number of the most res- 
 pectable citizens of Canandaigua were examined as to the 
 general habits and character of the defendants, and these 
 testimonials were in all respects strongly in their favor. 
 
 In behalf of Sheldon, the deposition which I have already 
 noted above, was put in and read- Cheseboro, Sawyer, 
 and Lawson, all deposed that Sheldon, so far as they were 
 acquainted with tlie transactions in question, w^as entirely 
 innocent. But the jury had not so found him, and he was 
 sentenced with the others. In the address with which Judge 
 Throop prefaced his sentence, he was, I think, particularly 
 forcible, and his remarks were so just, and so well expres- 
 sed, that a few passages may, very properly, be transcribed 
 from it: — 
 
LETTER XVIII. 201 
 
 **You have been convicted," said the judge, ''of a daring, wicked and pre- 
 sumptuous crime — such an one as we did hope would not in our day iiave 
 polluted this land. You have robbed the state of a citizen, a citizen of his 
 liberty, a wife of a husband, and a family of helpless children of the endear- 
 ments and protecting care of a parent. And whether the unfortunate vic- 
 tim of your rage has been immolated, or is in the land of the living, we are 
 ignorant, and even you do not pretend to know. It is admitted in this case, 
 and stands proved, that Morgan was, by a hypocritical pretence of friend- 
 ship and charity, and that, too, in the imposing shape of pecuniary relief to a 
 distressed and poverty bound prisoner, beguiled to entrust himself to one of 
 your number, who seized him, as soon as a confederate arrived to his aid, 
 almost at his prison door, and in the night time hurried him into a carriage, 
 and forcibly transported him out of the state. But, great as are the individ- 
 ual wrongs which you have inflicted on these helpless and wretched human 
 beings, they are not the heaviest part of your crime. You have disturbed 
 the public peace — you have dared to raise your panracidal arms against the 
 laws and constitution of your government — you have assumed a power 
 which is incompatible with a due subordination to the laws and pubhc au- 
 thority of your state. He was a citizen under the protection of our lavi's ; 
 you wei*e citizens and owed obedience to them. What hardihood and wick- 
 edness then prompted you to steel your hearts against the claims of humani- 
 ty, and to dare set at defiance those laws to which you Owed submission, and 
 which cannot suffer a citizen's liberty to be restrained with impunity, with- 
 out violating its duties of protection, assured to every individual under the 
 social compact. +♦*** +*** +* * + * + 4: 
 Our laws will resent such attacks as you have made upon their sovereignty. 
 Your conduct has created, in the people of this section of the country, a 
 strong feeling of virtuous indignation. The court rejoices to witness it — to 
 be made sure that a citizen's person cannot be invaded by lawless violence, 
 without its being felt by every individual in the community. It is a blessed 
 spirit, and we do hope that it will not subside — that it will be accompanied 
 by a ceaseless vigilance, and untiring activity, until every actor in this profli- 
 gate conspiracy is hunted from his hiding place, and brought before the tr> 
 l)unals of the country, to receive the punishment merited by his crime. We 
 think that we see in this public sensation the spirit which brought us into 
 existence as a nation, and a pledge that our rights and liberties are destined 
 to endure. But this in not all; your ofl'ence was not the result of passion 
 suddenly excited, nor the deed of one individual. It was preconcerted, delib- 
 erated upon, and carried into effect, by the dictates of the secret councils 
 and conclave of many actors. It takes its deepest hues of guilt from a con- 
 spiracy — a crime most dreaded from the depravity of heart it evinces, the 
 power for unlawful purposes which it combines, and from its ability to defy 
 the power of the law, and its ultimate danger to the public peace. Hence it is, 
 that the crime is considered full, when the wicked purpose is proved to have 
 been formed ; and the subsequent carrying into effect the object of the con^ 
 apiracy, does not; in the eye of the law, elevate the degree of the crime." 
 
 2Q 
 
202 LETTER XIX. 
 
 In conclusion, the court intimated its regret that the laW 
 had only made the offence of which the defendants were 
 guilty, a misdemeanor, instead of a felony. The omission, 
 it was supposed, had arisen from the great improbability 
 that such a crime could ever be committed in this country ; 
 but the court thought it could not discharge its duty, with- 
 out depriving the defendants of a portion of that liberty, 
 which, in the plenitude of lawless force, they had taken 
 from Morgan. I.awson was then sentenced to two years 
 imprisonment, in the county jail ; Cheseboro, to imprison- 
 ment for one year, in the same place ; Sheldon to an impri- 
 sonment of three months ; and Sawyer to one. 
 
 On the day before the adjournment, Miller was brought 
 up before the court under the attachments that had been 
 issued on Tuesday, to answer for his contempt. It appear- 
 ed by his answers, on oath, to the interrogatories put, that 
 although the subpoenas had been served, directing his at- 
 tendance on Monday, yet, that he did not leave his home 
 until Wednesday ; and that after travelling to Avon, he 
 digressed from the road into another town, upon private 
 business. He further stated that no fees had been tendered 
 to him at the time of the service of the subpoenas, and that 
 he had not any money himself to bear his expenses. Under 
 these latter circumstances, he was discharged by the court. 
 Thus much for the first of the " Morgan trials." 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 15, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 On the 22d of November, Governor Clinton had received 
 a long letter from Mr. Talbot, of the Batavia committee, ex- 
 pressing the satisfaction of the committee at the course that 
 
LETTER XIX. 203 
 
 had been pursued by him. " If," says this letter, " we have 
 " not sooner addressed you on this subject, it has not been 
 " for want of a desire to assure you of our regard and re- 
 " spect for you as our chief magistrate. I had no hesitation 
 " in assuring my friends here, that a violation of the laws 
 " would in every case meet with your strong and marked 
 " censure, and that all would be done by you that we had a 
 " right to expect. I well remember the course you pursu- 
 *' ed when mayor of New- York, and I felt then, as I do now, 
 " perfectly confident that neither your personal influence, 
 " nor your official authority, could be brought to the aid of 
 " any improper plan, whatever was the object of those con- 
 " cerned." Regretting that he was not able to furnish any 
 accurate information as to the fate of Morgan, Mr. Talbot, 
 the writer, then proceeds to detail to the Governor, an ac- 
 count of the mission of the persons who had been sent to 
 make inquiries along the ridge road, together with their 
 discoveries, tracing Morgan, as they supposed, into Cana- 
 da, or to fort Niagara. Repeating the stories that had been 
 circulated in Canada, that Morgan had been murdered by 
 having his throat cut, by two ruffians in disguise, (his body 
 having then been sunk in the river,) the writer yet expresses 
 his doubts, from the number and respectability of the persons 
 concerned in the abduction, as to the fact of the murder. 
 Some circumstances are then stated which induced the wri- 
 ter to believe that Morgan was confined somewhere in the 
 Canadas. A man had been seen, by accident, who was 
 <;hained, and who cried for food, which was refused, while 
 he was plied with di'ink, &c. Another report was, that 
 Morgan was confined at Quebec, on a charge of treasona- 
 ble practices, &c. After speaking of several legal steps 
 that had been taken, and referring to the conduct of the 
 sheriflfs of Genesee and Niagara, the letter proceeds — " We 
 " shall very soon make further attempts to elucidate this 
 ^' dark and singular transaction. The election for a few 
 
204 LETTER XIX. 
 
 " days diverted attention from it, but the public excitement 
 " rather increases than abates." " Perhaps I have written 
 " more than is proper, or agreeable to you. I vs^ill, for my- 
 " self, assure you that the second proclamation gave great 
 " satisfaction, and served at once to enable your friends to 
 " put down every idle suggestion relating to your views of 
 " the transaction." 
 
 To this letter, of which I have presented as ample an 
 abridgement as the case requires, the subjoined answer was 
 returned by Governor Clinton : — 
 
 ''Albany^ Sth January ^ 1827. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I have received your letter of November, in behalf 
 of the Batavia committee, appointed in the case of Morgan, 
 and I deeply regret the whole transaction, as well as the 
 failure of the attempts to restore him to his family. I am 
 not, however, without hopes of ultimate success. If in a 
 state of duress, he is probably detained in one of the Cana- 
 das, under false pretexts. I have written to the Governor 
 of Lower Canada, at Quebec, and of Upper Canada, at 
 York, stating his abduction, and requesting their humane 
 interpositions in his behalf, if confined in any of the forts or 
 prisons under their government, and I strongly anticipate 
 favorable results. Tiiere are a number of circumstances 
 which induce me to concur with you in the opinion you 
 express, against his being murdered. I do not think that 
 the men engaged in the conspiracy, if as respectable as you 
 intimate, wouJd stain their hands with blood ; and if bent 
 on such a horrid crime, we can hardly suppose that they 
 Avould carry Morgan to such a distance, and expose them- 
 selves so .unnecessarily to detection. But, when the demon 
 of fanaticism is at work, there is no knowing to what 
 extent of miscliicf and turpitude he may lead his disci- 
 ples. 
 
LETTER XIX. 205 
 
 ^* I am persuaded, however, that the body of Freemasons, 
 so far from having any participation in this affair, or giving 
 any countenance to it, reprobate it as a most unjustifiable 
 ^ct, repugnant to the principles, and abhorrent to the doc- 
 trines of the fraternity. I knovv^ that Freemasonry, pro- 
 perly understood, and faithfully attended to, is friendly to 
 religion, morality, liberty, and good government ; and I 
 shall never shrink, under any state of excitement, or any 
 extent of misrepresentation, from bearing testimony in favor 
 of the purity of an institution, which can boast of a Wash- 
 ington, a Franklin, and a Lafayette, as distinguished mem- 
 bers, and which inculcates no principles, and authorises no 
 acts, that are not in perfect accordance with good morals, 
 civil liberty, and entire obedience to government and the 
 laws. It is no more responsible for the acts of unworthy 
 members, than any other association, or institution. With- 
 out intending, in the remotest degree, a comparison, or im- 
 proper allusion, I might ask whether we ought to revile our 
 holy religion, because Peter denied, and Judas betrayed ? 
 
 " It appears that the abduction of Morgan from Canan- 
 daigua, took place on the 12th of September, and that the 
 Batavia meeting was held on the 25th. The affidavits pub- 
 lished by the committee of that meeting, sufficiently indica- 
 ted the perpetration of the outrage ; and it is to be regret- 
 ted that a judicial accusation did not immediately take 
 place, as it might, at that early period, have led to the dis- 
 covery of Morgan. On the 6th of October, I received your 
 communication, and on the next day issued the first procla- 
 mation. I took it for granted that the offenders would be 
 apprehended, and that Morgan would be discovered and 
 restored. But seeing, accidentally, in a Batavia newspa- 
 per, that these expectations were not realized, I issued, oij 
 the 26th of October, another proclamation, offering speci- 
 ilc rewards. I regret that, after the first communication, I 
 
20G LETTER XIX. 
 
 did not hear from you until the 22d of November. In say- 
 ing this, I do not intend the least blame, — the confusion and 
 derangement which must necessarily have grown out of 
 such an unprecedented and abominable transaction, must 
 present a sufficient apology for any omission on the part of 
 those who have been meritoriously engaged in detecting 
 and punishing an outrage which would scarcely be believed 
 were it not so well authenticated. 
 
 " I observe some imputations in your letter on the con- 
 duct of the sheriffs of Genesee and Niagara. If any accu- 
 sations, supported by testimony, are presented, I shall take 
 due notice of them. 
 
 " I pray you to accept for yourself, and to present to the 
 other members of the committee, my acknowledgments of 
 the laudable performance of your and their duties, as good 
 and fjiithful citizens, in a case so greatly to be deprecated, 
 and wiiich certainly demanded the energetic interposition 
 of the friends of liberty and good government. 
 " I am, (fee. 
 
 " DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 " Theodore F. Talbot, Esq., Batavia." 
 
 I trust, sir, that in the perusal of the preceding letter, 
 you will bear in mind that neither the distinguished writer, 
 nor other members of the masonic fraternity, at a distance, 
 was then aware of the extent to which the Masons of the 
 west were inculpated, directly or indirectly, in the trans- 
 actions in question. Nor Jiad the controlling bodies of 
 the order been convened, or taken any part in the premi- 
 ses, at that early period of the transaction. But these mat- 
 ters will be subjects of after consideration. The follow- 
 ing is a copy of the letter addressed by Governor Clinton 
 to the Governors of the two Canadas, as mentioned in the 
 |>receding communication. 
 
LETTER XIX. 207 
 
 " Albany, Gth January, 1827. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " A person of the name of William Morgan, otherwise 
 called Captain, or Major Morgan, resided, for some time, 
 with his family, in Batavia, in this state. He is said to have 
 been a native of Virginia, and to have carried on, at one 
 time, the business of a brewer, at York, in Upper Canada. 
 He is described as about five feet eight inches high — well 
 built — light complexion, and between forty- five and fifty 
 years of age During the last year he put a manuscript in- 
 to the hands of a printer in Batavia, purporting to be a 
 promulgation of the secrets of Freemasonry. This was 
 passed over by the great body of that fraternity, without 
 notice, and with silent contempt ; but a few desperate fana- 
 tics engaged in a plan of carrying him off, and, on the 12th 
 of September last, they took him from Canandaigua by force, 
 as it is understood, and conveyed him to the Niagara river, 
 from whence it is supposed that he was taken to his Britannic 
 Majesty's dominions. Some of the offenders have been ap- 
 prehended and punished, but no intelligence has been obtain- 
 ed respecting Morgan, since his abduction. I have, there- 
 fore, to appeal to your justice and humanity on this occa- 
 sion, and to request your excellency to cause inquiry to be 
 made respecting him, and, if he is forcibly detained, to direct 
 his liberation, and to communicate to me the results. It is 
 conjectured that he is confined in some fort or prison, under 
 false pretences. 
 
 " I am persuaded that no apology is necessary for this 
 intrusion on your time and attention ; and, permit me to 
 assure you, that I shall always be happy to reciprocate ycur 
 humane interposition, and to evince the high respect with 
 wliich 
 
 " I have the honor to be, (fee. 
 
 " DE WITT CLINTON. 
 " The Earl of Dalhousie, Quebec." 
 
208 LETTER XIX. 
 
 A duplicate of the same letter was, at the same time, ad- 
 dressed to Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant Governor 
 of Upper Canada. Answers from both these functionaries 
 were received in due season, which, as the originals are 
 before me, I v/ill transcribe for your perusal : — 
 
 *' Castle of St. Lewis, 
 
 " Quebec y 25th January, 1827. 
 f* Sir, 
 
 " I have had the honor of receiving your excellency's 
 of 6th January, instant, making inquiry for a person of the 
 name of Morgan. 
 
 " It will give me much pleasure to comply with your 
 wishes on this subject, and no time shall be lost in sending 
 you whatever information I can obtain. At present I can 
 only say, that nothing has been heard of him in this province 
 of Lower Canada ; and I may add that I am very certain 
 he cannot be detained in any clandestine manner in the Up- 
 per Province. The information, however, which I have 
 required of Sir Peregrine Maitland, shall be transmitted, 
 so soon as I receive it. 
 
 " It gives me much pleasure to sieze this opportunity to 
 express to j^our excellency the high respect and esteem with 
 which 
 
 " I have the honor to bo 
 
 " Your excellency's most obedient, 
 
 *• Humble servant^ 
 
 " DALHOUSIE. 
 " His excellency 
 
 ** De Witt Clinton, Esq. &c. .&c. &c." 
 
 The annexed letter is the reply of the Governor of the 
 I^pper Province : — 
 
LETTER XIX. 209>' 
 
 " Upper Canada, 
 
 " York, 5th February, 1827. 
 ^' Sir, 
 
 " I have the honor to aclvnowiedge the receipt of your 
 excellency's communication of the — ultimo, and to ac- 
 quaint you, that, to meet your desire, I have directed a no- 
 tice to be inserted in the Government Gazette, oftering a 
 reward of £50, for any satisfactory information that shall 
 be given respecting William Morgan. Should any thing in 
 consequence be learned, regarding him, I shall not fail to 
 - communicate it to your excellency. 
 " I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 " Your excellency's most obedient, 
 
 " Humble servant, 
 " P. MAITLAND, Lieut. Governor. 
 ^* His excellency, 
 
 " De Witt Clinton, Governor of Nev^^-York." 
 
 In order, at once, to complete this correspondence, it will 
 be necessary for me to anticipate the progress of my narra- 
 tive, by transcribing for your perusal, in this place, the sub- 
 joined communication from the Earl of Dalhousie : — 
 
 " Castle of St. Lewis, 
 
 " Quebec, 31s^ Marchy 1827. 
 *' Sir, 
 
 " I have the honor to inform your excellency that hav- 
 ing called upon the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, 
 to communicate to me any information he could obtain, re- 
 specting William Morgan, the person mentioned in your 
 letter of the 6th January last, the Lieutenant Governor has 
 stated to me that no such information has been received 
 from him, although he had caused a reward to be offered, 
 on the part of the government, for any authentic intelli- 
 gence respecting that individual. He further i-nforms.mo 
 
 27 
 
210 LETTER XIX. 
 
 that the report of Morgan's having been heard of in thai 
 province, had been pubhcly and positively contradicted, by 
 those persons who were accused of having a knowledge of 
 that circumstance. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 " Your excellency's most obedient, 
 
 *' Humble servant, 
 
 " DALHOUSIE. 
 " His excellency, 
 
 " De Witt Clinton, Esq., &c. &:c. &c." 
 
 Neither the Earl of Dalhousie, nor Sir Peregrine Mait- 
 land, however, could well have been ignorant, that several 
 Canadian citizens w^ere, beyond a doubt, very seriously in- 
 volved in the conspiracy. An atternpt to procure an inves- 
 tigation on the Canadian side of the frontier, had been made 
 early in January. It having been satisfactorily ascertained 
 that Morgan had been taken into Canada, a member of the^ 
 Niagara Committee crossed the river to Niagara, (com- 
 monly called Newark,) while a grand jury w^as in session. 
 " He went before the grand jury, and proposed to furnish 
 " them with the names of witnesses residing in Canada, if 
 " the grand jury would agree to investigate the matter. 
 " After consulting together, they resolved to do so ; and they 
 " were accordingly furnished with the names of several Ma- 
 " sons residing in the town of Niagara, which is more com- 
 " monly called Newark, who were believed to be impor- 
 "tant witnesses. The jury adjourned soon after. The 
 *^ next day the complainant was informed that after the ad- 
 " journment of the jury, the witnesses who had been desig- 
 « nated, had been conversed with ; that after the assembling 
 « of the jury in the morning, they had consuhed the district 
 "judge, and, thereupon, had resolved to do no more in the 
 « premises. The complainant ascertaijied that the districf 
 ** judge was a Freemason, and that the foreman and a por- 
 
LETTER XX. 211 
 
 ** tion of the jury were also Masons." This relation was 
 derived by Mr. J. C. Spencer from the gentleman who 
 was the complainant. 
 
 Ver}^ respectfully, &c. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 17, 1832. 
 
 The result of the trial narrated in my last letter but 
 one, gave no satisfaction to any body. Not a leaf of the 
 mystery was unfolded ; not a particle of doubt, upon any 
 essential point, removed. The three most prominent of the 
 parties indicted, had precluded any investigation of facts, 
 by pleading guilty to an offence that could not be punished 
 as a felony ; while the fourth had only been convicted in 
 consequence of his own vain-glorious boastings over his 
 cups, being at the same time, as it was very soon made to 
 appear, entirely innocent. The apparent indifference of 
 Miller, moreover, in neglecting to come forward promptly, 
 in a case with which he was personally so intimately con- 
 nected, and his dilatoriness by the way, after he had start- 
 ed, — for it was manifest that in such a case he could have 
 encountered but little difficulty in procuring money for only 
 a fifty miles journey, — all these circumstances together, con- 
 spired to create a momentary pause in the public mind ; and 
 oven to inspire a doubt in the minds of people at a dis- 
 tance, whether, after all, a mock-tragedy might not pos- 
 sibly have been enacted at the west, the denouement of which 
 even Col. Miller, one of the abducted, was not very anx- 
 ious to disclose. Such, I must have the candour to admit, 
 was, for the moment, my own impression, as recorded edi- 
 torially in the same number of the Commercial Advertiser^ 
 
212 LETTER XX. 
 
 in which the trial was published at lengtli. Indeed I be- 
 lieve the opinion was very general in this quarter of the 
 state, after the perusal of the trial, that Miller was then ac- 
 quainted with the place of Morgan's retreat, and had absen- 
 ted himself from court only to avoid being compelled to 
 testify to that fact. 
 
 But a very different opinion Continued to prevail at the 
 west. Morgan did not re-appear ; and circumstances were 
 continually transpiring in the neighborhood of Fort Niaga- 
 ra, which daily produced a stronger and yet a stronger 
 conviction, that he had been most foully dealt by. Many 
 public meetings had been held before the trial of Chesebo- 
 ro and his associates ; and many more were held immedi- 
 ately afterwards, from which w^ere issued resolutions and 
 addresses of the most spirited description. The people 
 were enraged that the punishment of the ofienders was me- 
 ted out so lightly by the court at Canandaigua, and the 
 com't itself was in some places denounced. The laws of 
 the state were assailed, because, in the opinion of these pop- 
 ular meetings, no adequate punishment for the crime of kid- 
 napping a free citizen was prescribed, and resolutions were 
 adopted requesting the legislature to supply the deficiency 
 in the statute-book. It v/as declared in a convention of 
 {Seneca county, that an outrage of unparalleled atrocity had 
 been committed ; and that the courts of law^ had been ap- 
 pealed to in vain for the punishment of the ofienders, which 
 declaration was at that time untrue, as tliere had then been 
 no cause for complaint upon this head. The court had fear- 
 lessly discharged its duty on the only occasion which liad 
 offered, for judicial action, but parties are always hurrying 
 to extremes. Freemasonry was now more fiercely denoun- 
 eed than ever. It was pronounced to be highly prejudicial 
 to the well being of society — and it was asserted that the ob- 
 ligations which the Masons were under to each other, forbade 
 an impartial discharge of their duty, " to unoffending citi- 
 
LETTER XX. 213 
 
 " zens" and the community at large. A secret and invisi- 
 ble power was declared to have controlled the course of 
 justice; and the sentences at Canandaigua were denounced 
 as an insult to an enlightened people. It was at this peri- 
 od, when the whole country beyond the Cayuga bridge was 
 in a whirlwind of passion, that political Anti-masonry dates 
 its origin. At a joint meeting of the people of the towns of 
 Batavia, Bethany and vStaffbrd, it was resolved, " to wdth- 
 " hold their support at elections from all such men of the 
 " masonic fraternity, as countenanced the outrages against 
 " Morgan." This resolution was followed by one at Sene- 
 ca, directed, without exception, against all Freemasons, and 
 resolving that " they would not vote for Freemasons, for 
 " any offices whatever." The ominous silence of a large 
 portion of the newspaper press upon this subject, began 
 now to attract the attention of the public, and a resolution 
 was passed at a meeting of the towns of Pembroke and Alexan- 
 der, by which the people assembled " pledged themselves to 
 »• discourage the circulation of any paper, the editor of which 
 *' so far muzzled his press as to exclude every fact in relation 
 -•* to these outrages." This resolution was followed up very 
 promptly by the meeting of Seneca county, where it was 
 resolved, "that the silence of the public journals on the sub- 
 "ject was alarming, and that the meeting would take no 
 •' newspapers which did not publish the facts and public pro- 
 "ceedings respecting the outrage;" concluding by a threat 
 to discourage the circulation of all such paj)ers. These, I 
 believe, were the first denunciations of the press, for its con- 
 duct in this matter. That there was some reason in their 
 <;ompiaints, I cannot with truth deny ; but the threatening 
 spirit of the complaints, was not the wisest course to be 
 pursued, in order to remedy the evil. A courteous expres- 
 .tjion of the public feeling upon the subject, might have done 
 good. The language of menace, must necessarily result 
 ill ways, ^s it then did, in positive eviL 
 
214 LETTER XX. 
 
 The more people reflected upon the trial of Cheseboro 
 and others, the stronger were their convictions, that there 
 must be important facts undisclosed. At the distance of New- 
 York, from the scene of action, however, it could hardly be 
 expected that we should understand the cause of this great 
 agitation, as well as could those immediately in its neigh- 
 borhood. But from the multitude of the popular meetings^ 
 which had increased immediately after the trial referred to, 
 and from the many suspicious, though frequently contradic- 
 tory and improbable rumors, which were borne along upon 
 every breeze from the west, it occurred to me that I had 
 perhaps formed a somewhat too hasty opinion, on reading 
 that trial. On reviewing it, moreover, I w^as forcibly im- 
 pressed with the fact, that, while Cheseboro and Sawyer 
 had put in depositions in mitigation of punishment, Lawson 
 had not done so. He had made an affidavit going to excul- 
 pate Sheldon, but of himself he was silent. He had been 
 the chief agent in taking Morgan from the prison. He had 
 crone with him to Rochester : it was known that he was at 
 theLewiston installation, on the 14thof September : and some- 
 body had been most strangely transported along the Ridge 
 Road, at the same time that he must have been travelling 
 that very way; — and that somebody, between midnight and 
 morning, of that day, after being removed fi-om the carriage 
 at Youngstown, had very mysteriously disappeared in the 
 midst of thick darkness. It was known that Lawson return- 
 ed from Lewiston, late on the night of the 14th; and yet 
 he had pleaded guilty to all with which he stood charged 
 in the indictment ; and when opportunity afforded him a 
 chance to speak, he had not broken silence in his own ex- 
 culpation. He had not ventured the slightest assurance, 
 to quote the language of the judge in his charge, " that Mor- 
 « ffan had not been immolated as a victim to their rage, or 
 '' that he was yet in the land of the living." I likewise re- 
 elected more seriously upon the fact, that they had pleaded 
 
LETTER XX. 215 
 
 guilty by the advice of counsel not often disposed to yield, 
 in any case where high intellectual and professional talent 
 can hope for success. 
 
 It was under circumstances and impressions like these, 
 that I took the liberty of addressing a confidential letter to 
 my friend, John C. Spencer, Esq., of counsel for the defend- 
 ants, stating the doubts and fears under which I was labor- 
 ing, and respectfully requesting from him any facts, or opin- 
 ions, upon the subject, which he might feel at liberty to com- 
 municate, without interfering with his professional duty to 
 his clients. Before, however, any answer from Mr. S. 
 could be received in due course of mail, a variety of addi- 
 tional circumstances, of a painful nature, had been received 
 through other channels. With a degree of spirit and per- 
 severance suited to the high object in view, and with an ar- 
 dour w^hich no discouragements could repress, the delegates 
 from the several committees before referred to, proceeded 
 again to Lewiston, immediately after the Canandaigua trial, 
 to renew their investigations. They counted seventeea 
 resolute men, and the number would have been somewhat 
 greater, had not a portion of the committee, deputed from 
 Rochester, where the excitement, on both sides, had rapid- 
 ly assumed a high degree of exasperation, been deterred by 
 the threats of the Masons from joining their associates on 
 this occasion. The visit of these committees, since known 
 as the Lewiston convention, was not very acceptable to the 
 fraternity in Lewiston and its vicinity. Many of the Ma- 
 sons from that and the adjoining towns, assembled at Lew- 
 iston likewise, some of them armed, and all breathing forth 
 the most violent rage, and uttering many vindicative senti- 
 ments, and even threats, towards the members of the com- 
 mittee. On one occasion they rushed into the room in 
 which they were assembled, extinguished the lights, and heap- 
 ed every possible epithet of contumely and rage upon those 
 engaged in these praise- worthy investigations. Their object 
 
.■^% 
 
 216 LETTER XX. 
 
 was, clearly, to provoke a controversy, and tlias bring on a di- 
 rect personal and physical conflict. But the committee was 
 composed of men of prudence, who sufiered none of these 
 things so far to move them, as to divert them from the stea- 
 dy pursuit of tlie great object which, with a single eye, they 
 were pursuing. Subsequently a conference was held be- 
 tween the parties ; but its only result was a shower of 
 obloquy heaped upon the convention, by the District Attor- 
 ney of the county, a royal arch Mason, who insisted that 
 these gentlemen had no right to come into his county, to 
 investigate criminal matters which he was competent to 
 manage himself. 
 
 Having a case in hand of so much delicacy, and environ- 
 ed with so many, and such peculiar difficulties, to which 
 may be added the strong inducements which many persons 
 had to lead them astray, by false information, it may well 
 be conceived that the task of the committee was one of great 
 difficulty. Many of the idle reports with which the com- 
 mittee were perplexed, were also put into circulation through 
 the newspapers, tending to confuse the public mind, and 
 unsettle every opinion as soon as formed. One of these 
 tales was, that an arrangement had been made between the 
 Masons and Captain John Brandt, a son of the celebrated 
 Mohawk chief by that name, to take Morgan from olf their 
 hands, and transfer. him to the British North Western Fur 
 Company ; but the imputation was indignantly repelled by 
 the descendant of the Indian hero, under his own hand, and 
 in a manner bearing the. impress of ti'uth. Another story 
 was, that Morgan had been taken to Fort George, on the 
 Canadian shore, tried by a masonic tribunal, and executed 
 by a young Indian. There was yet another report, that the 
 Masons of Canada had been requested to take Morgan down 
 to Quebec, and cause him to be shipped on board of a ves- 
 sel of war, which request being refused, he was put into a 
 boat above the falls, cut adrift, and thus huri^ied over the 
 
LETTER XX. 217 
 
 cataract into eternity. None of these stories were true. 
 But before the investigations of this meeting of the conven- 
 tion v/ere closed, they received information, which induced 
 them to believe, that after Morgan had been taken from the 
 carriage, near the burying ground, in Youngstown, he had 
 been carried across the Niagara, bhndfolded, pinioned, and 
 gagged ; — that he had been taken into the lodge in New- 
 ark, (U. C.) where, after much deliberation, the Masons had 
 refused to incur the responsibility of disposing of him ; — that 
 he was then taken back to the American side, and confined 
 in the magazine of Fort Niagara ; — that he was there tried 
 by a masonic council, pursuant to an express order from 
 the Grand Chapter, and put to death in the manner prescrib- 
 ed by one of the masonic penalties, viz : by having his 
 throat cut, his tongue torn out by the roots, &c. ; — that 
 while the poor victim was in confinement, awaiting the sen- 
 tence of death which had been passed, he had begged for a 
 bible, and half an hour's time for preparation, which requests 
 were brutally denied him. A number of letters, written by 
 members of the committee, minutely detailing the circum- 
 stances disclosed to them, and the conclusions at which 
 they had arrived, were published, which created a univer- 
 sal feeling of horror among that large portion of the people 
 who had not taken sides with the conspirators, or resolved 
 to believe nothing upon the subject. And yet, although the 
 committee had received information leading them to such 
 conclusions, they had not obtained one particle of positive 
 testimony — nothing which could warrant an application, at 
 that time, to grand juries for bills of indictment. They had 
 tliemsolves visited Fort Niagara, and ascertained what 
 vv^as the internal arrangement and condition of the maga- 
 zine, which was a strong stone apartment, previously 
 to the memorable 12th of September ; — and, from ocu- 
 lar examination, they were fully satisfied that some 
 
 person had been confined therein : of this fact there 
 
 28 
 
218 LETTER XX. 
 
 were many indications of a positive and unequivocal 
 character. There were also marks of great violence 
 having been used, as though by one in confinement, who 
 had struggled to release himself. But beyond this, and cer- 
 tain doubtful appearances of blood, they could, as yet, prove 
 nothing. That " a deed without a name" had been commit- 
 ted, all were prepared to believe ; but by that time, those 
 who would have gladly spoken, dared only to whisper in 
 surmises ; and even these half suppressed inuendoes, were, 
 in some instances, given only upon solemn pledges that 
 their names were not to be used. The prevalence of such 
 a panic, among enlightened people, — a people unused to 
 fear — is not the least remarkable feature of these strange 
 transactions. It is probably to be accounted for upon the 
 simple principle, that the apprehensions of men are always 
 increased, in novel situations, w^hen they are involved in 
 darkness. The secret and invisible power of Freemasonry, 
 was, at that time, a subject occupying all minds — the theme 
 of every tongue. Its power, and its strength, and the ex- 
 tent of its influence, were magnified a thousand fold. Its 
 secret meetings, however, were held, and, without pausing 
 to reason or reflect upon the matter, as one deed of dark- 
 ness had, beyond a doubt, been enacted by its instigation, 
 people seemed to think that others might follow, by the 
 same unseen hands, as often as it might be deemed necessa- 
 ry to suppress the testimony of one, or denounce vengeance 
 for disclosures made by another. 
 
 It was precisely at this crisis, and, if I do not misrecollect, 
 by the same mail which brought the correspondence of the 
 Lewiston Committee, of which I have been speaking, that I 
 received a reply to the letter addressed to Mr. Spencer. 
 Without going much into particulars, Mr. S. wrote me. 
 tliat, from the facts and circumstances with which he had 
 been made acquainted, " there were strong reasons for be- 
 *' lieving that the worst I could havb heard was true.'' 
 
LETTER XX. 219 
 
 From that moment, my own course was decided. While 
 halting between two opinions — weighing and balancing the 
 different accounts daily reaching us from the west, — scarce- 
 ly knowing which to believe, or, whether to reject the whole, 
 — I had published but little upon the subject, until the re- 
 port of Cheseboro's trial was received. Convinced, howe- 
 ver, at last, that there was substantial cause for the excite- 
 ment, my resolution was taken, regardless of consequences, 
 to discharge my whole duty to the community, as a public 
 journalist. But I also determined to hold the scales with 
 an even hand ; and while all facts of importance should be 
 pubUshed, and the guilty denounced in terms of just and 
 merited indignation, yet I was not to be driven to confound 
 the innocent with the guilty, or to publish all the wild tales 
 and inflammatory speeches, and resolutions, which might 
 issue from excited popular meetings, or be poured forth in 
 the columns of village newspapers, now starting up in vari- 
 ous places, like mushroons of a night, — determined, as was 
 clearly perceptible, not only to ride upon the whirlwind, 
 and direct the storm, but, in more ways than one, to turn 
 the righteous indignation of a generous people, to private 
 account. In one word, my object was impartiality and truth ; 
 and although the ultras, of both parties, have often been dis- 
 pleased because I chose to persist in pursuing the even 
 tenor of my way upon this subject, — guided alone by the 
 rule of right, — and although both have, more than once, at- 
 tempted to make me feel the weight of their power, still, I 
 have the satisfaction of knowing, that, with singleness of 
 purpose, I have endeavored to discharge my duty honestly, 
 and fearlessly ; and I have many substantial reasons for be- 
 lieving, that the course which has been taken by the papers 
 in which I have a deep concern, has been such, in general, 
 as to command the approbation of the wise and the good. 
 
 On closing its labors for this time, the Lewiston Conven- 
 tion did not dissolve itself, but only adjourned. The last 
 
920 LETTER XX. 
 
 act of the meeting, was to petition the Legislature, which 
 was then in session, for aid in pursuing the investigation. A 
 memorial was prepared, and soon afterwards transmitted to 
 Albany, praying that an additional and greater reward 
 should be offered for the apprehension and conviction of 
 those engaged in the abduction and probable murder of 
 Morgan, and likewise for the appointment of a special com- 
 missioner to prosecute the matter, and, if possible, bring the 
 offenders to justice. 
 
 The letters from Lewiston, to which I have referred, were 
 written at various periods, from the 12th to the 30th of 
 January, inclusive. Like all the preceding developements, 
 though clouded in uncertainty as to the facts, the tendency 
 of these letters was still more to inflame the public mind ; 
 and the flight of two men, who were strongly suspected as 
 principals in the outrages, just at this time, also tended to 
 strengthen the public confidence in the general accuracy of 
 those disclosures. The persons to whom I allude, were, 
 Burrage Smith, and John Whitney, of Rochester — the wit- 
 nesses, on the trial of Cheseboro, and others, who were so 
 much afraid of criminating themselves. These men both 
 privately left their places of residence, while the Lewiston 
 Committee was yet pushing their inquiries on the Niagara. 
 A member of the committee, from Rochester, was in Al- 
 bany, on the 1st of February, and saw Smith in that city. 
 Bowen Whiting, Esq., the District Attorney of Ontario,, 
 w^ho, although a Mason, had so ably and faithfully discharg- 
 ed his duties on the late trials, as to command the universal 
 approbation of the public, was likewise in Albany. The 
 moment he was apprised by the Rochester gentleman, of 
 Smith's presence in that city, he applied to the police jus- 
 tice for a warrant for his arrest. This was early on the 
 morning of February 2d. The warrant was granted. But, 
 although constables are very plenty in Albany, still, from 
 <:ircumstances that have ne^ er been explained, the warrant 
 
LETTER XX. 221 
 
 was not placed in tlie hands of an officer until late in the 
 afternoon. The officer repaired immediately to the lodgings 
 of Smith, but the bird had flown. I do not intend to incul- 
 pate the magistrate in this matter ; but there were a variety 
 of circumstances inducing a belief that Smith had been ap- 
 prised of its being unsafe for him to remain longer in that 
 capital ; and the fact that the magistrate was an officer in 
 the Grand Chapter, did not escape the public attention, and 
 was the subject of unpleasant remark. Smith and Whitney 
 having each a family, and both being respectable men, doing 
 a good business at Rochester, were immediately afterwards 
 known to have fled the country. They came to this city ;. 
 and the rumor at the time was, that they were so impatient 
 (or at least one of them was) to get to New-Orleans, that they 
 were put on board of a ship outward bound, at the Hook — 
 a boat having been sent nearly thirty miles, to overtake her. 
 Col. King, whose name has already been introduced in the 
 preceding narrative, and who must necessarily be spoken 
 of again, fled yet earlier before the storm — he having left 
 the district of excitement in December. Governor Clinton 
 afterwards informed me that King called upon him, as he 
 passed through Albany, and behaved very strangely. He 
 thought him partially deranged. King applied to him for 
 a loan of money, which was declined. He then requested 
 an appointment, or a recommendation for an appointment,, 
 which he wished to obtain at Washington. This request 
 was likewise declined. Leaving Albany for Washington, 
 he shortly aftervs^ards drew upon Governor C. from that 
 city, for two hundred dollars, without the least encourage- 
 ment or authority, and succeeded in getting the draft 
 cashed. While at the seat of government, he procured the 
 situation of sutler at Cantonment Towson, in the remotest 
 part of Arkansas Territory, to which place he repaired, 
 leaving his tamily at Youngstown. 
 
 Very respectfully yours. 
 
 i 
 
222 LETTER XXI. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 19, 1832. 
 
 iSiR, 
 
 The eyes of the anti-masonic pubhc were now turned 
 in a different direction. It w^as known that the annual 
 convocation of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter commen- 
 ces its sittings on the first Tuesday in February, in each 
 year, at Albany. On the one hand, some of the leaders of 
 the conspirators had declared, that their proceedings in re- 
 gard to Morgan, had been enacted in obedience to the 
 Grand Chapter ; and although the tale could not, by possi- 
 bility, be true, inasmuch as that body meets but once a 
 year, and it had not been in session since the February pre- 
 ceding the abduction ; yet it was unquestionably believed 
 by many Masons, who had been led to participate in the 
 outrage. And on the other, the greater number of the Ma- 
 sons were disclaiming and disavowing the transactions alto- 
 gether. The Masons, how^ever, were, at this time, divided 
 into four classes, and it is proper that the precise distinctions 
 should be stated here, that they may be retained and al- 
 lowed, on all proper occasions, in the course of the narra- 
 tive, 1 St. There were the guilty Masons, and their imme- 
 diate confidants, if not allies. 2d. The thorough-going Ma- 
 sons, who, though not actually guilty, nor previously aware 
 of the intended procedure against Morgan, were still rather 
 disposed to think, if they did not actually say, that the actors 
 had served the traitor right. 3d. A small number of retired 
 Masons, who had resumed their aprons in consequence of 
 the spirit of persecution that had gone abroad, and who, as 
 men conscious of their own rights, and their own innocence, 
 
LETTER XXI. 223 
 
 felt bound to resist the intolerant spirit of Anti-masonry. 
 4th. A much larger body of Masons than either of the 
 preceding, who, having virtually relinquished the institution 
 long ago, and ceased to care much about it, were now mere 
 passive Masons, condemning the outrages, if they could 
 be made to believe them true, as strongly as the most ve- 
 hement of the Anti-masons could do ; but doubting, ne- 
 vertheless, whether it could be possible that any substan- 
 tial cause existed for the excitement. 
 
 The most zealous, and I may perhaps say, unreasonable 
 of the Anti-masons, believing, as they did, or affected to do, 
 that the outrages had been sanctioned by the Grand Chap- 
 ter, had no right, of course, to anticipate the manifestation 
 of any special indignation against the conduct of their 
 western brethren, in this matter. The first and second 
 classes secretly took their own measures, as will be seen in 
 the result. But the third and fourth classes of the fraternity, 
 as I have classed them, and the great body of the people not 
 belonging to the order, did look forward to the adoption of 
 some strong and decisive measures on the part of the Grand 
 Chapter, which should clear its own skirts, and proclaim its 
 own innocence. 
 
 That lawless outrages had been committed in the name of 
 Freemasonry, was known to all : that those outrages had 
 been concluded by a fearful act, was believed by many : 
 and that, at least, three members of the fraternity had been 
 convicted, and were at that time in prison for their crimes, 
 was a matter of public judicial record. Equally well 
 known was the fact, that the local masonic bodies to which 
 those convicted brethren belonged, had taken no measures 
 to manifest their displeasure at their conduct. Under cir- 
 cumstances like these, wnac more just or natural expecta- 
 tion could have been entertained by an anxious public, than 
 that the highest masonic body in the state, if guiltless in all 
 these matters, and in no wisq cognizant thereof, should, at 
 
224 LETTER XXI. 
 
 once, have assumed an attitude that would have vindicated 
 its members from all suspicion ? It is true that the Grand 
 Chapter had no right to expel the olFenders from the re- 
 spective chapters to which they belonged. Nor, in regard 
 to those who were Masons of three degrees only, had they 
 any jurisdiction in the case. But they had power to insti- 
 tute the most rigid investigation into the causes of the ex- 
 citement at the west, and they were not destitute of funds. 
 They had power to demand explanations from the local 
 chapters, and require them to show cause why their char- 
 ters should not be tal^en from them. They had power, and 
 means, for offering a heavy reward for the apprehension and 
 conviction of the offenders ; — and they had among them 
 the ability, if the disposition had existed, to put forth a mani- 
 festo, showing, at least, that they were in earnest in any dis- 
 claimer they might proclaim to the public. Did they do 
 so ? Did they do any of these things ? — I am ashamed, 
 and w^as grieved at the time, to be compelled to reply, that 
 they did not. 
 
 The Grand Chapter met, and elected its officers ; and in 
 publishing the list, it was somewhat ostentatiously announc- 
 ed in the Albany Masonic Record, that upw^irds of one hun- 
 dred and ten subordinate chapters w-ere represented — 
 which was an unusaliy large number. But so far from tak- 
 ing any efficient step in the great matter before the public, 
 which was then agitating all minds at the west, and array- 
 ing friends, and neighbors, and christian brethren, and 
 churches in fierce unchristian liostility against each other, — 
 what did they do ? Why, sir, they contented themselves, 
 by issuing to tlie public a tame and spiritless resolution, 
 with a preamble, setting forth some common-place and ab- 
 stract propositions about personal liberty, and " the bless- 
 " ings of our republican institutions," — admitting that there 
 had been a violation of those rights under the " alledged'' 
 pretext of the masonic nama &:c.. and ending by a simple 
 
LETTER XXi.' 22t1 
 
 disclosure of all individual or collective knov^^ledge of the 
 transactions in question.* And this was all ! Sir, it was 
 a mockery. The crisis, and the occasion, demanded a doc- 
 ument of a difterent stamp.- Nor was a proclamation, of 
 any description, alone suificient to satisfy the public. There 
 should have been resolutions of inquiry ; an efficient com- 
 mittee of investigation, in whom the public wouldhave re- 
 posed confidence ; and a heavy rew^ard. But none of these 
 things were done. An empty " whereas," and an equivocal 
 denial, was all that the Grand Chapter could do by way of 
 appeasing a population of three hundred thousand souls, 
 who had been thrown into an unexampled state of excite- 
 ment by the conduct of members of the fraternity. Some 
 of those members had been arrested ; — they had confessed 
 their guilt ; — they w^ere then immured in a prison ; — and 
 yet there was not even a rebuke of their conduct at eom-^ 
 mand ! I repeat, sir, it was a mockery : it w^as an insult 
 upon the people. For of what value, can it be supposed^ 
 was such a disclaimer in the eyes of the public, when they 
 knew very well, that there were present in the Grand 
 Chapter, at that very time, in full communion, and passing 
 upon this very resolution, some of those very conspirators 
 themselves ! Such, sir, was the fact. Need we marvel, 
 then, that this preamble and resolution gave no satisfaction 
 to the public ; that it was viewed with disgust ; that it was 
 transparent, and was looked upon rather as an evidence of 
 guilt, than of innocence ? 
 
 Most heartily, sir, do I wish I could here dismiss this act 
 in the drama. But truth requires at my hands a disclo- 
 sure upon this subject, which, I believe, has never before 
 been made, in its details, and which speaks in a voice of 
 thunder against the masonic institution in the state of New*^ 
 York. By the very terms of the boasted pre^cigmation pu^ 
 
 ^'- F?ce Appcmlix, F. 
 
226 ^ I^ETTER XXI, 
 
 forth by the Grand Chapter, it will be seen that it camo 
 before that body as the report of a committee. Two of 
 the members of that committee w^ere, the late Adjutant Gen- 
 eral Beck, and a gentleman who was then a distinguish- 
 ed member of the legislature, of great moral worth, and a 
 professor of religion, whose daily w^alk and conversation 
 adorn hi^ profession. Believing, as these gentlemen did, 
 that the outrage upon Morgan was highly alarming, and 
 supposing that only a few miguided zealots had been en- 
 gaged in it, they accepted appointments upon the committee, 
 with a determination to do every thing in their power to 
 bring to light the truth. The committee had two or three 
 meetings ; and the gentleman to w^hom I have alluded, but 
 who does not desire to have his name introduced to the 
 public in print, expressed himself, as did some others, very 
 indignantly at the attack upon Morgan. One of the mem- 
 bers of the committee, however, was bold to hazard the as- 
 sertion, " that if Morgan had been put out of the way, he 
 « deserved it." But he was immediately told that such lan- 
 guage could come from no man, who knew what Masonry 
 was, and what the laws of God and man require. After 
 due consideration of the subject committed to them, the 
 committee prepared a report and resolutions, with the dis- 
 sent of the member last referred to, recommending the of- 
 fering of a reward of one thousand dollars, for the discovery 
 of the murderers, together with a declaratory resolution, 
 denying any knowledge, on the part of the Grand Chapter, 
 «is to the persons who had been engaged in the crime. 
 
 When the report was introduced, the resolution propo- 
 sing the reward was most furiously assailed by some of the 
 New- York, and the western members, and although defend- 
 ed by the late Gen. Beck, with my friend, and some others^ 
 IT WAS REJECTED ! So also was the preamble of that re- 
 })ort rejected ; and a strong attempt was likewise made to 
 reject the concluding resolution, but it did not succeed — 
 
J.ETTER XXI. 227 
 
 although the gentlemen who had introduced the report, 
 considered that it had received its death-blow, so far as any 
 attempt at investigation was to be undertaken, or serious 
 exculpation made of the chapter itself. Why, it was urg- 
 ed, in the debate upon the first resolution, be unwilling to 
 offer a reward for the detection and arrest of the offenders, 
 and thus show to the world the sincerity of the regrets we 
 profess, and the truth of our protestations of innocence ? In 
 reply, sentiments were advanced, (particularly by the dis- 
 senting member of the committee, who lived westward of 
 Ontario,) which not only breathed the spirit of the wdldest 
 fanaticism, but were shocking to the feelings of the friends 
 of the report. He was not allowed to proceed by the 
 chapter ; and my friend left the lodge-room for a short time. 
 But judge of his surprise on returning into the chapter, to 
 find that a resolution, granting to the committee of charity 
 for the use of " the western sufferers," a term well under- 
 stood, the sum of one thousand dollars, had been offered 
 and passed suh silentio. Such an appropriation was with- 
 out precedent or parallel. " Its object," says my friend, in 
 a recent letter now before me, " I could not mistake. It 
 " was to give relief to the western brethren. I made some 
 " inquiries, but obtained no satisfactory answers. The 
 " next winter, while at Albany, I heard some complaint 
 " from one of the officers of the chapter, that the money 
 " had been drawn by General Gould, of Rochester, and that 
 *' no satisfactory account had been given of the manner in 
 " which it had been expended." 
 
 Referring again to the course of the Grand Chapter respec- 
 ting the Morgan affair, my friend remarks : — ^^* The whole 
 " business appeared to me to be done to smother up the af- 
 ** fair, and I felt very much dissatisfied with the rejection of 
 *< the resolution profiTering the reward. I so expressed my^ 
 ^ self in the chapter, and declared my firm conviction, that 
 
$2B LETTER XXII, 
 
 ^' the course pursued was a death-blow to masonry ; — and 
 i'* although no prophet, my prediction has been fulfilled." 
 
 This, sir, is a revelation of truth. 1 submit it to you, sir, 
 ^nd to all others who may chance to peruse it, without 
 comment, further than to add — for there are hundreds who 
 have heard me declare my unbelief in the existence of such 
 a spirit in the Grand Chapter at that time, — that I myself 
 ■f* have only obtained the secret history of that convocation, 
 
 since the present correspondence was commenced. This 
 declaration ig due as an act of justice to myself. 
 
 Very respectfully, &c, 
 
 LETTER XXIL 
 
 New- York, Feb. 20, 1832. 
 
 Wholly unsatisfactory as was the faultering disclaim^ 
 er put forth by the grand chapter, yet the conspiring Ma- 
 sons and their allies, and those of the fraternity who yet 
 hoped for the best, pointed to it for some time as a vindica- 
 tion, at least of the constituted authorities of the order. But 
 jt had no effect upon the public mind in the excited districts, 
 and but very little elsewhere. Indeed at the west the ex- 
 citement continued to increase, if possible, more rapidly 
 than ever. Meetings were held in all directions ; the peo- 
 ple seemed to have relinquished all other business ; and the 
 fjtanding theme of conversation, in the tavern, the counting- 
 room, and the work-shop ; in the Held, and by the way- 
 side ; at home and abroad ; was Morgan and the Freemar 
 jBons, The disclaimer of the Grand Chapter was pronoun- 
 ced cold, lieartlcss and insincere ; and a degree of passion 
 began to be exhibited which threatened serious results. Not 
 Qn\y were county conventigps called, but numerous meet-^ 
 
LETTER XXII. 229 
 
 ings were held in the various towns, and the most sweep- 
 ing resolutions passed, often breathing a spirit of persecu- 
 tion and revenge against the whole body of Masons ; de- 
 nouncing the officers and ministers of justice ; condemning 
 the sheriff of Canandaigua for the lenity extended by him 
 to the conspirators in confinement ; and proclaiming an in- 
 terminable war against every Mason, and, I may add, in 
 some instances, against all those who should refuse to join 
 in the crusade against them. Every term of vituperation 
 supplied by a language that is sufficiently copious in epi- 
 thets, was freely used. The resolutions proscribing Masons 
 as unworthy to hold any offices whatever, were multiplied ; 
 the most positive pledges were made, that none such should 
 ever thereafterwards receive their sufirages at the elections ; 
 and as the town meetings, usually held in that country in the 
 month of March, approached, arrangements were made for 
 carrying their resolutions into effect at the polls. The de- 
 nunciations of the press were continued in the bitterest 
 terms, and prpscriptive resolutions, against all papers that 
 did not demean themselves exactly as the committees de- 
 sired, w^ere sent forth in showers. That the people had 
 some cause for their distrust and jealousy of the press, I am 
 not disposed to deny. The truth will not allow me to do it. 
 But of this subject hereafter. 
 
 The war was likewise carried into matters of religion. 
 Ministers of that gospel which breathes " peace on earth and 
 " good will to men," were denounced ; and although their 
 walk and conversation during the whole of their lives might 
 have been pure and blameless, yet the popular mandate 
 went forth, that, unless they forthwith renounced their Ma- 
 sonry, they were no longer fit to minister at the altar. In 
 some places the people resolved that they would not even 
 licar a minister preach, unless he renounced the lodge-room. 
 Several clergymen were dismissed — " the relations which 
 '*' had subsisted for years between the pastor and his flock, 
 
^SO LETTER XXIl. 
 
 " were burst asunder — ^brethren and communicants of the 
 " same church, refused to partake of the holy sacrament, so 
 " long as it was tainted by a Mason's presence — the dearest 
 " relations of social life were severed in twain — brother was 
 " armed against brother, citizen against citizen, and neigh- 
 " bor against neighbor. The groans of Calvary were lost, 
 " and the precepts of the Redeemer forgotten, amidst the 
 " universal cry of " where is Morgan ?" And echo answer- 
 ed ichere ? 
 
 The violence of these proceedings began to create a re- 
 vulsion in the public sentiment without the boundaries of 
 the agitated district. Good men, who knew, and felt, that 
 it was " a blessed spirit" in its origin, now hesitated, paused, 
 and inquired to what such things might lead. Morgan, it 
 was true, was yet absent, and the mystery of his disappear- 
 ance was as dark as ever. But there were so many con- 
 tradictory and conflicting stories afloat, that the mind was 
 literally "in wandering mazes lost." And what contribu- 
 ted again to raise doubts upon the subject, were the facts, 
 that one man, as it was now on all hands admitted, had been 
 unjustly convicted. Another, who had been strongly charg- 
 ed as a principal in the alledged murder, by the Lewiston 
 committee, had been exonerated by two of its principal 
 members, from any knowledge of, or participation in, the 
 crime — or rather, (for he was now dead,) his memory had 
 been relieved of the reproach by that committee. In addi- 
 tion to these circumstances, another member of the same 
 committee, had airthorised the editor of a paper at Batavia 
 to declare to the public, " that no signs of blood, or any 
 " other probable evidences of the murder of Morgan, had 
 " been discovered at Fort Niagara." This was in direct 
 contradiction of what had been understood as one of the 
 principal discoveries in the magazine. And, in sober truth, 
 what with these contradictions, and the honest, and sincere, 
 and spirited denial of Brandt, of which I have already spo- 
 
LETTER XXII. 231 
 
 ken, from the testimony now before the pubhc, all the ma- 
 terial discoveries of the Lewiston convention during its 
 January visit to the frontier, had been successively discred- 
 ited. It is therefore not at all strange, that there should 
 have been a pause in the public mind at a distance from 
 the scene of the commotion. The history of the world 
 forms, for the most part, but a humiliating record of tho 
 crimes, the vices, and the follies of men, arising from the 
 indulgence of selfishness, or the still baser passions of the 
 human heart ; and this history is fruitful in examples of the 
 dangers resulting from popular excitements. However 
 just and holy may be the feeling in which they commence, 
 the moment they obtain the mastery over reason and the 
 law, there is no foretelling the lengths to which an excited 
 populace may be hurried, either by the unrestrained power 
 of their own passions, or by the uses to which their origi- 
 nally honest indignation may be moulded by the artful and 
 aspiring demagogue. Mankind are essentially the same in 
 all ages and countries, modified only by circumstances of 
 climate, education, and their civil and pohtical condition ; 
 and these advantages have never yet so far exalted the hu- 
 man character, as to raise the mass of men above the preju- 
 dices, and the passions of party, or to place them beyond 
 the reach of flattering and knavish leaders. The history 
 of New-England furnished a striking example of the extent 
 to which a popular excitement can be carried, even amongst 
 the best informed and the most pious race of men that have 
 ever existed. Without recurring to the bloody annals of 
 France, the gun powder and the Popish plots in England, 
 furnish evidence to the same effect ; the Saviour of Men fell 
 a victim to a popular excitement in Jerusalem, wiiich in- 
 timidated the Roman government ; — on one day the peo- 
 ple of Lycaonia could scarce be restrained from offering sa- 
 crifice to Paul and Barnabas, and on the next the same peo- 
 ple were excited to stone and drag them ignominiously 
 
232 LETTER XXII. 
 
 through the streets, leaving them for dead in the suburbs ; — 
 and, not to multiply examples, in returning to our own 
 country, at a comparatively recent day, we have seen the 
 civil authorities of a fair city at the south, paralyzed by a 
 popular excitement, and its streets reeking with the blood 
 of its murdered citizens. In one word, there is as yet no 
 sufficient evidence but that any large mass of men, heated 
 by excitement, no matter how created, might be so wielded 
 by another Antony, as to be made gladly to apply the torch 
 to the house of that same Brutus, who w^as the chiefest idol 
 of popular idolatry one brief hour before. Cautioned by 
 facts and reflections like these, the discredit that had for the 
 moment been thrown upon the revelations of the Lewiston 
 convention, although Morgan was still absent, and his ab- 
 sence unaccounted for, had the effect of checking the pub- 
 lic feeling in other parts of the state, if not of causing a po- 
 sitive re-action. 
 
 But in the excited region, there were ample causes for 
 keeping the elements in commotion. Several of the per- 
 sons who went from Canandaigua to Batavia, to arrest 
 Morgan on the trumped-up charge of larceny, were tried 
 at the General Sessions of Ontario, held during the month 
 of February, of which I am now WTiting, on a charge of 
 forcibly seizing and falsely imprisoning Morgan ; but they 
 were acquitted, on the ground that they were protected by 
 the warrant for his arrest. But the manner in w'hich Dr. 
 S. S. Butler gave his testimony, was the cause of dissatis- 
 faction. This gentleman, it may be recollected, was the 
 same who had been sent forward from Stafford to Batavia, 
 on the evening of September 10th, to announce to certain 
 friends in the latter place, the approaching visit of Chese* 
 boro and Hayward, in pui^uit of Morgan, with the war- 
 rant. Connected with this individual also, was the still 
 more important faqt, that, on the organization of the grand 
 Jui-y for the term of the Genesee Court of General Sessions, 
 
LETTER XXII. 2SS 
 
 for this same month of February, and when it was probable 
 that some further judicial proceedings would be instituted 
 upon this subject, this Dr. Butler was appointed foreman. 
 He was a Knight Templar, and a large portion of the jury 
 were Masons. Of this fact the foreman was not slow to 
 avail himself. To one of the jurymen, also a Templar, he 
 remarked : — " A majority of the jurors are Masons : we 
 " have got the stuff in our own hands : our friends must not 
 " be indicted !" The promulgation of such facts as these, 
 was calculated to produce fresh irritation. It was the first 
 direct evidence yet disclosed, that Freemasonry was, at 
 least in that section of the state, endeavoring to impede the 
 march of justice, even in its very sanctuaries ; and glad 
 should I feel, could it truly be said it was the last. But it 
 so happened, that the sheriffs of all the counties of that dis- 
 trict of country, were at that time Masons. As the law of 
 New- York then was, the grand jurors were selected and 
 summoned by the sheriffs. And it generally occurred that 
 large majorities of the juries so summoned, were Masons 
 likewise. This was the fact in January, at the Niagara 
 General Sessions. The Lewiston committee were then 
 making their investigations along the Niagara frontier ; and 
 Eli Bruce, the sheriff, summoned sixteen Masons upon 
 the grand jury. No applications, however, were made at 
 this term, for indictments ; but it will, by and bye, appear 
 to what uses Mr. Bruce did bring his Masonry, at a sub- 
 sequent period, in this very respect. 
 
 At the term of the Court of General Sessions of 
 Ontario, just mentioned, the grand jury renewed the 
 inquiries in the case of Morgan. They found a bill 
 of indictment against seventeen persons, for a conspi- 
 racy to kidnap and carry away that person, and for 
 falsely imprisoning and carrying him to parts unknown. 
 These persons were James Lakey, a physician, Chaun- 
 
 cey H. Coe, Hiram Hubbard, John Butterfield, Jaraes 
 
 30 
 
2S4 LETTER XXil. 
 
 Ganson, formerly s. member of the stale legislature, Asa 
 Nowlen, Harris Seymour, Henry Howard, Joseph Sco- 
 field, Moses Roberts, Halloway Hayward, a constable, 
 James Gillis, a respectable farmer, John Whitney, Bur- 
 rage Smith, Simeon B. Jewett, an attorney and counsel- 
 lor at law, and Willard Eddy. 
 
 The preceding details bring this eventful history down to 
 the close of February ; and along with " the ides of March," 
 came fresh disclosures of -deep and awakening interest. 
 There was a bookbinder, by the name of Richard Howard,, 
 alias Clipperfield, or Chipperfield, a foreigner, who had been, 
 strongly suspected of a participation in the Morgan outra- 
 ges, but down to this period, no circumstances had trans- 
 pired, sufficient to warrant his arrest. He was known 
 to have been at Batavia at the commencement of the out- 
 rages, or at about that time ; and from his own conversa- 
 tions, and admissions, at various times, it was by many sup- 
 posed that he was also at Fort Niagara, on the 14th, and 
 probably a few days afterwards. I was told at Buffalo, in 
 the autumn of 1829, of the manner in which some of the 
 presumptive testimony, in the case of Howard, was obtain- 
 ed ; and as the same process was adopted in other places, 
 and with similar success, it may not be amiss to note it in 
 this place, as an evidence of the deep and universal interest 
 which pervaded the community in that quarter, upon this 
 subject, and of the persevering efforts of people, whether 
 committee-men or not, to disclose, if possible, the hidden 
 mystery of the fate of Morgan. With this view, in some 
 villages, the inhabitants were, in fact, committees of the 
 whole. It was so in Buffalo ; and many of its citizens were 
 continually provided with pencils and paper, to note down 
 every word, hint, or incidental remark, which they might 
 hear in the course of the day, bearing upon the matter up- 
 permost in their thoughts ; and with these memoranda they 
 were wont to meet in the evenings, for a comparisoa of 
 
LETTER XXII. 235 
 
 Tiotes. These notes not unfrequently reflected light upon 
 each other, and in the case of Howard, had afibrded almost 
 sufficient matter to authorise an arrest. But an affidavit 
 was now received by the committee at Batavia, which left 
 no further doubt of the propriety of such a procedure. It 
 was the deposition of John Mann, then of Buffalo, stating, 
 that in the latter part of the preceding month of August, or 
 early in September, and a few days previously to the at- 
 tempt to burn Miller's office, in Batavia, he took a ride with 
 the said Howard. While they were riding, Howard appli- 
 ed to the deponent to procure for him a keg of turpentine — 
 avowing that he wished to obtain it in order to " switch" 
 Miller's office therewith, it being his determination to burn 
 that office, and thus prevent the publication of a book re- 
 lating to Freemasonry. Mann declined purchasing the 
 tirticle, for the want of money, as he alledged to the appli- 
 cant. Sometime afterwards, subsequently to the attempt 
 upon the office, (the deponent proceeded to say,) Howard in- 
 formed him that he did make the attempt. Having procur- 
 ed the turpentine, and purchased a broom at a store a short 
 distance west of Batavia, with which to spread the combus- 
 tible liquid, he set fire to it by means of a dark lanthern, and 
 as the fire blazed up, he fled. Some person, as he supposed, 
 followed him, but he turned upon him, and, dashing the lan- 
 thern in his face, succeeded in effecting his retreat. These 
 details, furnished under oath by Mr. Mann, corresponded 
 so exactly with the circumstances under which the fire must 
 have been kindled ; the walls having been swabbed with 
 turpentine, and the dark lanthern found near by ; that an 
 officer was forthwith dispatched to Buffalo, for the purpose 
 of arresting the incendiary. But the messenger was direct- 
 ed to consult with some confidential friends at Buffalo in the 
 first instance, and be governed by their advice. After a 
 private consultation, it was determined not to arrest How- 
 ard, for reasons with which I am not acquainted. It was 
 
236 LETTER XXII, 
 
 believed by them, however, that he would not leave the 
 place, but would be forthcoming at any after-time when he 
 might be wanted — and the messenger thereupon returned to 
 Batavia ; — such precautionary measures having been taken 
 at Buffalo, as it was supposed would prevent Howard from 
 knowing that he was suspected. Other information having 
 been received by the committee, a messenger was a second 
 time despatched to Buffalo ; but Howard had suddenly disap- 
 peared. A second deposition was now spontaneously fur- 
 nished by Mr. Mann, of a yet darker character, going to 
 confirm the suspicion, not only that a dreadful alternative 
 had been adopted by the conspirators, at once to silence 
 Morgan and the story of his wrongs, but that Howard had 
 been one of the leaders in the tragedy. Mr. Mann, in this 
 second deposition testified, substantially, that at about the 
 time he heard of the abduction, Howard informed him 
 that Morgan had been taken to Fort Niagara, and impri- 
 soned : that those with him, [Morgan,] had drawn lots, to 
 decide who should execute his masonic penalty upon him ; 
 and that the lot had fallen upon him, the said Howard. Ac- 
 cording to the deposition, Howard appeared to be much 
 distressed about it, but seemed to think that he had only 
 performed his masonic duty. Howard held several subse- 
 quent conversations with the deponent upon the subject ; 
 but although he gave him to understand that the penalty had 
 been executed, he never afterwards spoke of his own agen- 
 cy in the transaction. Mr. Mann himself stated that he 
 had felt unpleasantly in keeping such a secret ; and that, 
 finally, after advising with his friends, he had determined to 
 make the disclosure. 
 
 These depositions were of a startling character ; but, had 
 it not been for the flight of Howard, from the eccentric tem- 
 perament of Mr. Mann, who was well known to us in this 
 city, they would not, unsupported, have made a very deep 
 impression here. Mr. Mann, originally a blacksmith, had 
 
LETTER XXII. 237 
 
 relinquished the trade, and after a regular course of study- 
 been admitted to the bar in this city. Not succeeding, how- 
 ever, in the profession, he retired to the country, and resum- 
 ed his early occupation. I knew him very well, in 1820- 
 '21. Soon after he made these depositions, he became 
 positively insane, and in a few months afterwards, died 
 a raving maniac. His unfortunate end threw still more 
 doubt upon the truth of his statements, as it is by no means 
 an unusual occurrence for those whose minds are diseased, 
 to fancy their best friends, or even themselves, to be guilty 
 of the blackest and bloodiest crimes, but of which they are 
 perfectly innocent. In process of time, however, circum- 
 stances enough have been revealed, to prove, very satisfac- 
 torily, that, even if he were crazy, so far as Howard was 
 concerned, there was certainly some " method in his mad- 
 " ness." Nothing further has ever been heard of Howard, 
 except that on fleeing from the west, he came to this city, 
 where he had before been employed as a journeyman book- 
 binder. It was on or about the 10th of March, 1827, that he 
 absconded from Buffalo. In March, 1829, a man named 
 Avery Allyn made an affidavit in this city, setting forth, 
 among other things, that in March, 1828, he attended an 
 encampment of Knights Templars at St. John's Hall, for 
 the purpose of perfecting himself in the higher degrees ; 
 that during the evening, the Templar who officiated as 
 Prelate, stated to him that they were certain of Morgan's 
 death ; that the person who had executed the penalty of his 
 obligation upon him, had been in that encampment, and con- 
 fessed himself to have been the one who gave him the fatal 
 blow. Another Templar, during the same evening, made 
 a corroborating statement to Allyn ; — and both avowed that 
 after consultations upon the subject, they had furnished the 
 man money, and sent him to Europe. Allyn admits that he 
 himself thought it was all right at that time, and for a con- 
 siderable time afterwards. 
 
238 LETTER XXII. 
 
 When this deposition appeared in an Anti-masonic paper, 
 which fretted its hour upon the stage in this city, and soon 
 departed, I was exceedingly shocked. I had not beheved, 
 however wickedly a portion of the fraternity had conducted 
 in the west, that the Masons of this city, or any portion of 
 them, had been cognizant of the Morgan business, either ac- 
 tively or passively, or in any manner consenting thereto. 
 The affidavit was so full, explicit, and circumstantial, that 
 it wore the appearance of truth ; and yet, the fact, that, by 
 his own showing, the author had acceded to the propriety 
 of the course of the Masons on the occasion referred to, and 
 had concealed this horrible truth for the space of more than 
 a year, added to certain other unfavorable circumstances 
 which it is needless to mention, conspired, altogether, to 
 make me question his veracity. He had, moreover, incul- 
 pated a gentleman in his statement, who, before ^nd after, 
 wards, I had the strongest reasons for believing as innocent 
 of all knowledge or participation in the affair, as I am my- 
 self. Still, I was determined diligently to investigate the 
 matter ; with which view, I devoted a large portion of each 
 day for a week, and entered upon a thorough course of exami- 
 nation and inquiry. The result then was, a full and entire 
 belief, that not one word of Allyn's statement was true ; and 
 so I have expressed myself times almost without number. 
 But since my present investigations were commenced, I 
 have satisfied myself that I was unable to reach the facts 
 of the case ; and that, however Allyn might have been mis- 
 taken in some of his details, and as to the identity of the 
 gentleman to whom I have alluded, there was yet essential 
 truth in his story. I have recently been informed, in a man- 
 ner which leaves not a particle of doubt upon my own mind, 
 that Howard was in this city, at or about the time mention- 
 ed. I believe that when he fled from Buffalo, he proceeded 
 aiong the shore of the lake to the village of Erie ; thence 
 through Pennsylvania and Maryland to Baltimore ; that, on 
 
LETTER XXIII. 2S9 
 
 his arrival there, he engaged a passage on board of a ship 
 for a foreign port ; — that he was closely pursued ; — that on 
 proceeding from his hotel to the ship, then about getting un- 
 der way, he espied his pursuer on the deck of the ship be- 
 fore he had quite reached it ; — that he instantly changed his 
 direction, unperceived, directing the porter to take his bag- 
 gage away, as he had made a mistake as to the dock ; — that 
 he jumped on board of a steam-boat, and succeeded in reach- 
 ing Philadelphia, where he consulted a lawyer. Thence he 
 came to this city. I believe that he was at St, John's Hall ; — 
 that some unworthy Masons of this city, — but who they 
 are, I know not, — did cherish and provide for him, knowing 
 his situation and his crime. I believe, further, that he was 
 taken across to Long Island, by the aid of his masonic friends 
 here, and finally put on board of a packet-ship, bound for 
 England, from the lower extremity of Long Island, at the 
 entrance of the harbour at Sandy Hook. 
 
 I am, sir, very sincerely yours^ 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 22, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 Gov. Clinton had written to Mr, Talbot, chairman of 
 the Batavia committee, on the 7th of February, expressing 
 his surprise that of late he had heard nothing from him. 
 He mentioned rumors of further important disclosures- 
 which were said to have been made, and urged him to fur- 
 nish all the authentic intelligence upon the subject that 
 could be obtained, desiring also to know the views of the 
 committee respecting any further measures that ought to be 
 adopted for the discovery and punishment of the offendersv 
 Mr. Talbot, in behalf of the Batavia committee, replied 
 to the above-mentioned letter on the 1st of March. In this 
 
240 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 reply were enclosed the depositions of Messrs. Trumbull 
 Carey, Timothy Fitch, and Hinman Hoi den, testifying to 
 the discoveries which had been made by the committee of 
 investigation at Lewiston, of which they were members, 
 affording the strong reasons for believing that Morgan had 
 been put to death, which we have already seen, and direct- 
 ly inculpating Bruce, the sheriff of Niagara. The deposi- 
 tion of John Mann, the substance of which has also been 
 given, was enclosed in this communication from Mr. Tal- 
 bot, accompanied, however, by extracts from a letter from 
 a professional gentleman in Buffalo, who was consulted in 
 the premises, and who seemed exceedingly reluctant to be- 
 lieve in the guilt of Howard, at the same time bearing 
 strong testimony to his integrity and industry, and the 
 general excellence of his character. 
 
 To this letter Gov. Clinton replied on the 7th of March. 
 It was then understood that the report of the Lewiston 
 convention, was in a forward state of preparation. In re- 
 ference to this statement, the Governor, in his answer, which 
 was addressed to Mr. Talbot, remarked : — " As soon as 
 " the publication of the Lewiston convention appears, I will 
 " come to a definitive resolution as to the course to be pur- 
 " sued by me. I wish you would expedite this measure as 
 " far as is in your power. As the next step on my part 
 " may involve important consequences, I hope to have be- 
 " fore me all the light that can be furnished. Will you also 
 " favor me as soon as possible with the result of the BufFa- 
 •*Io investigation?" 
 
 The letter from which the preceding quotation is made, 
 was followed by another of which the annexed is a copy: — 
 
 " Albany, Uth March, 1827. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " In reviewing my letter to you of the 7th of March 
 instant, I think it proper to avoid all ambiguity, by stating^ 
 
LETTER XXIIl. 241 
 
 explicitly, that immediate measures ought to be adopted for 
 proving and testing the allegations contained in an affidavit 
 respecting a person criminated at Buffalo. 
 
 " In the affidavit of Messrs. Carey, Holden, and Fitch, 
 it is stated that the sheriff of Niagara county, was concern- 
 ed in the abduction of Morgan. I wish this charge to as- 
 sume a specific shape, and to be accompanied by all the ev- 
 idence that can be produced, in order that he may have a 
 hearing, and, if guilty, be ejected from office. 
 
 " I should be gratified in knowing whether any exposi- 
 tion of this afiair is to be made by the Lewiston convention, 
 or any other body of men. As most of the information is 
 
 said to emanate from Dr. T ■, it would be important 
 
 to have his affidavit, and such testimony as can be adduced 
 to support his statement and character, — both of which have 
 been seriously impeached. 
 
 " I have only to add, that I am determined to use every 
 means in my power, to develope all the mysterious pro- 
 ceedings connected with the ab.duction of Morgan, and to 
 bring the offenders to condign punishment. Sooner or la- 
 ter this will in all probability be accomplished ; but the 
 sooner it is done, the better ; and I rely upon your continu- 
 ed and faithful co-operation as good citizens, and useful 
 members of society. 
 
 " I am, &c. 
 
 « DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 « Theodore F. Talbot, Esq." 
 
 On the 17th of March, Governor Clinton spontaneously 
 communicated a special message to the assembly, in the 
 following words ; — " Gentlemen : The abduction of William 
 " Morgan being an act of unprecedented violence, has justly 
 " excited unequivocal reprobation ; and the apprehensions 
 " which are entertained of his fate, have produced general 
 
 *' alarm and anxiety. Understanding that this subject is 
 
 31 
 
242 LETTER XXIHo 
 
 ♦* under the consideration of your honorable body, I have 
 " thought it proper to communicate to you all the informa- 
 " tion in my power respecting it ; and this I should have 
 ** done before, had I not been apprehensive that a premature 
 " disclosure might have interfered with pending investiga- 
 " tions. If any future intelligence of importance should be 
 " received, I shall not fail to communicate it." Accompa- 
 nying this message were a considerable number of papers^ 
 comprising copies of the correspondence which had taken 
 place between his excellency and the western committees,, 
 together with a variety of other documents relating to the 
 subject of the outrage, and the several proclamations already 
 noted. The message and documents were referred to the 
 committee of the assembly on courts of justice, to which 
 had previously been referred sundry petitions and memorials 
 of the people on the same subject. 
 
 Two days afterwards, viz. on the 19th of March, his ex- 
 cellency issued his third proclamation, by which an increas- 
 ed and specific reward of ojie thousand dollars was offered 
 to any person who should restore Morgan to his family, if 
 livings or discover and bring to punishment his murderers, if 
 dead ; — and a free pardon was tendered to any one of the 
 accomplices of the crime, who should make a full discovery 
 of the offender or offenders.* 
 
 At the time this proclamation was issued, a delegation 
 from the western committees was again on a visit to Lewis- 
 ton and Fort Niagara, foUowring up the investigations that 
 had formerly been made, but as yet with no decisive re- 
 sults. A number of additional depositions were collected 
 by this committee, and a variety of facts and circumstances 
 elicited, strengthening the former conviction, that Morgan 
 had been brought to, and imprisoned in, the fort, and that 
 there were many individuals implicated in this part of the 
 
 * See Fac simile, in tlie Aj>i>cndix.. 
 
LETTER xxni. 243 
 
 mysterious transaction. Among the depositions so collect- 
 ed, was one from a man named Paul Mosher, to whom Fox 
 had told the circumstances of his night journey from Youngs- 
 town. The story of Fox, as related on the morning of Sep- 
 tember 14, was widely different from his testimony on the 
 trial of Cheseboro and others. He at first informed Mosher, 
 when he had received no caution of concealment, that there 
 was a man gsigged and bound in the carriage ; and he 
 thought he had heard him called Morgan. But Mosher 
 also swore, not only to the threat of Fox's employer, that he 
 should lose his place if he was not silent, but that a short time 
 afterwards. Fox was made a Mason at Lewiston, for which 
 purpose, a special lodge was called. In January following, 
 when interrogated in court, as it has been shown. Fox swore 
 that he heard nothing of Morgan, nor did he see any force ap- 
 plied to any one whom he took to Youngstown. The em- 
 ployer of Fox had likewise afforded other evidence that 
 some transaction had taken place that was wrong. He had 
 been heard to speak of sending a man down to the fort, as 
 there was trouble ; he had said, " that another man must be 
 ♦* smuggled away, to blind the transaction ;" and on the 
 morning after he had spoken of the trouble at the fort, he 
 had said, " he guessed that all was still enough." Another 
 deposition was obtained from a Mr. Tryon, who had been 
 at a ball at Lewiston, on the night of the 14th of Septem- 
 ber, after the installation. As he was proceeding towards 
 Youngstown, between three and four o'clock in the morning, 
 it being a clear moonlight night, he met five men walking 
 from the direction of Youngstown, towards that of Lewis- 
 ton, viz. Timothy Shaw, Samuel Chubbuck, Gen. P. Whit- 
 ney, James L. Barton, (the employer of Fox,) and Noah 
 Beach. Such a night- walk, for such persons, — for they were 
 all men of standing in the community, — was unusual. The 
 committee also obtained, at the same time, a deposition of 
 Edward Giddings, the former keeper of the fort, and the 
 
244 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 personage who has subsequently figured so conspicuously 
 in the Morgan trials. But this document is an exceedingly 
 cautious one. The committee had made another close in- 
 spection of the fort and magazine. Giddings, at this time, 
 occupied a small ferry-house, near the fort, directly on tlie 
 bank of the river, and sometimes entertained travellers. 
 He had charge of the fort for several months previously to 
 the 1st of August, 1826, on which day he left it, and gave 
 up the key. He had left the magazine in perfect order. It 
 was now deranged, and there were many decisive evidences, 
 not only that it had been occupied, but that somebody had 
 been confined therein ; for the braces which had been ap- 
 plied to the door, and the marks of violence within, were 
 very distinct and convincing. Giddings made full expla- 
 nations as to the order in which he had left every thing in 
 the fort and magazine on the first of August ; but pretend- 
 ed that he could not account for the derangement of the va- 
 rious fixtures, and the appearances indicating that the ma- 
 gazine had been occupied by some one held in durance. 
 When distinctly asked, however, whether he had not been 
 called up by Bruce and Colonel King, on the night of Sep- 
 tember 13th, he declined answering the question ; but added, 
 that should he be legally called upon, he would attest to all 
 he knew. A clue to the fact indicated by the question thus 
 put, was afforded in the following manner : — " On the morn- 
 ** ing of the 14th of September, a party of ladies and gen- 
 *' tlemen proceeded in a steam-boat from Youngstown to 
 ♦♦ Lewiston, to attend the installation so repeatedly spoken 
 »* of. Bruce and King were on board, and, among other la- 
 ♦* dies, was Mrs. Giddings. During the passage, one of the 
 »^ ladies familiarly asked, what he meant by going about at 
 " nights, and disturbing people, and calling up her hus- 
 *' band" — " Yes," observed Mrs. Giddings, « they came too, 
 ** and routed up my jioor husband." 
 
LETTER XXIII. 245 
 
 Many other circumstances, all tending to the same con- 
 clusion, were elicited at this time, by the committee. There 
 liad previously been a strong suspicion that Morgan had 
 been taken to the house of a prominent man at Newark, a 
 member of the provincial parliament of Upper Canada. 
 The imputation became so annoying to him, that he pub- 
 lished a letter, intending it to go forth as an entire contra- 
 diction ; but it was so equivocal and evasive, as to excite 
 still stronger suspicions against him. The committee, dur- 
 ing this examination, arrived at all but positive testimony, 
 that, although Morgan had not been taken to his house on 
 the night of September 13, yet that the gentleman referred 
 to had been called up late at night, and had seen Morgan 
 on the Canada shore. They also satisfied themselves, from 
 testimony too strong to be resisted, that Morgan had been 
 taken to the Masons at Newark, who refused to receive him, 
 and that he had been thence taken back again to the American 
 shore. Here their direct and positive testimony ended, 
 i But in addition to these circumstances, and many others 
 which it would be too tedious to enumerate in this place, the 
 committee obtained a deposition from a medical gentle- 
 man of Upper Canada, a Mason, who had been informed 
 by a brother Mason, that Morgan had been thus brought 
 across the frontier, refused, and sent back ; and that he 
 had subsequently been put to death at Fort Niagara, and 
 his body sunk in the river. The informant of this gentle- 
 man justified the deed, as being no more than was due to 
 the expositor of the secrets of the order. The tale was re- 
 peated to this gentleman, in December following the out- 
 rage, together with the particulars of the execution, as men- 
 tioned in the letter giving an account of tlie first meeting 
 of the committee at Niagara. The last informant, on being 
 interrogated as to the state of mind of those who had been 
 guilty of putting him to death, stated that they were much 
 troubled ; one of them had nearly gone crazy ; and that 
 
246 LETTER xxiir. 
 
 others had declared they would willingly deliver up every 
 thing they had, could they only bring Morgan back. It 
 was also added that the execution had been performed 
 agreeably to directions from the General Grand Chapter, tlie 
 funds of wliich were to be used to defray the expenses of 
 fines, &c., should they be discovered and prosecuted. A 
 member of the Genesee Committee, happening to be at 
 Lockport, had been informed while there, by a respectable 
 inhabitant of Niagara county, " that he had been for some 
 " time past working on the Well and Canal — that a friend, 
 " who resided in Canada, near the canal, had a few days 
 " before called on him, and exacted a promise from him to 
 " go to Batavia, and communicate to the committee that 
 " Morgan had been taken to Fort Niagara, in the night, put 
 " into the fort, and detained there three or four days — that 
 " they tried to get the Masons on the Canada side to take 
 " him, but they refused — that afterwards two ruffians had 
 " taken him out, cut his throat, and tied his body to a 
 " rope and stone, and thrown it into the lake — that he had 
 " been told so by Masons, of which society he was a mem- 
 " ber, and that he conscientiously believed it — that his name 
 " must not be used, or given in ; for if it was known that he 
 " had informed he should fare no better." All this, howe- 
 ver, was but circumstantial and hearsay evidence, and would 
 be wholly insufficient to convict of any capital offence, even 
 should attempts be made to obtain indictments. But as 
 yet, however strong the suspicion, there was no proof to 
 establish the commission of any crime, beyond that of the 
 .original abduction. Nor, after months of investigation, had 
 it been ascertained that any thing farther respecting 
 Morgan's person could be proved, than his getting into the 
 carriage at Canandaigua. All else was circumstance, con- 
 jecture, and mystery ; so skilfully had their plans been de- 
 vised ; so exactly executed ; and the secret so faithfully 
 kept. 
 
LETTER XXIII. 247 
 
 But the conspirators took very efficient measures for es- 
 caping indictments even for the minor ofience of the ab- 
 duction. The parties suspected disappeared; witnesses 
 were spirited away ; and when attempts were made to pro- 
 cure indictments, witnesses often decKned to testify, alledg- 
 ing that they could not do so without criminating them- 
 selves. I have already spoken of the first grand jury, af- 
 ter the abduction, summoned by Bruce, for the county of 
 Niagara, of which he was sheriff. In like manner, each 
 successive grand jury summoned by him, or under his or- 
 ders, while he continued in the sheriffalty, was composed, a 
 strong majority at least, of Masons ; and the public prose- 
 cutor of that county was also a Mason, who knew all about 
 the affair. Hiram B. Hopkins, a Royal Arch Mason, and 
 one of Bruce's deputies, has declared that he had directions 
 in summoning the grand jurors, to select at least three- 
 fourths Masons — Bruce telling him at the same time, that 
 it would not do to have all Masons, as the device would oc- 
 casion suspicion. Hopkins states that when he had inquired 
 of them how they expected in the end to escape detection 
 and punishment, they always assured him they were in no 
 danger, as they would have to deal only with Masons. At 
 the April General Sessions of Niagara county, 1827, of 
 twenty-one persons present on the grand jury, thirteen were 
 Masons, of whom one was subsequently found to be an im- 
 portant witness, and another was afterwards himself indict- 
 ed as an actor in the conspiracy. It was before this jury 
 that complaint was made against Bruce, as one of the con- 
 spirators ; and a scene of corruption took place on this ex- 
 amination, unsurpassed, probably, in the annals of judicial 
 iniquity ; too flagrant, indeed, almost, for belief. Every pos- 
 sible effort was made by the jury, to shield Bruce. Another 
 witness desired to be excused from giving evidence, because 
 he was a poor man, and the fact of his giving testimony, he 
 said, would ruin him. He was excused ! One witness, not- 
 
248 letteh xxiii. 
 
 withstanding all the cunning in putting the questions, actu- 
 ally testified to Bruce's own acknowledgement of having 
 had an agency in carrying Morgan away. Questions, which 
 had been prepared carefully beforehand, in writing, and 
 furnished to members of the jury, and which it was believed 
 would elicit the truth, were not allowed to be put by the 
 majority. The revelation before referred to, which was 
 made to a respectable man when at work upon the Welland 
 Canal, was testified to before this grand jury. One juror 
 insisted that the witness should name the person who gave 
 him this information, but he refused, and nearly, if not quite 
 all the other jurors present, sustained the witness in his refu- 
 sal, and he was allowed to retire without answering the 
 question. Jt has also been stated, without contradiction, so 
 far as I have been able to ascertain, " that a series of ques- 
 " tions, to be propounded to the witness, had been so framed, 
 " that the witnesses could answer without eliciting any dan- 
 " gerous information. This must have been the case, or real 
 " perjury must have been repeatedly committed, on the in- 
 " vestigation before them. All the important witnesses, to 
 " trace the whole abduction from Rochester to Fort Niagara, 
 " were examined before this grand jury ; the same witnesses, 
 " upon whose testimony, bills were afterwards found in other 
 " cases, and convictions had. Thirteen of the witnesses ex- 
 " amined before this grand jury, were subsequently indicted, 
 " not one of whom protected himself on the examination, 
 " on the ground that he should criminate himself. Three of 
 " them, were afterwards shown by the testimony of Eli 
 " Bruce himself, to have had a criminal agency in the ab- 
 " duction. Edward Giddings, in his published ' Statement of 
 "* Facts,' says he was subpoenaed before this grand jury, 
 " which much alarmed those who were implicated. One of 
 " them informed Giddings that he would go and see the fore- 
 " man, and state to liim Giddings' situation, that he might 
 '* know how to question him, so that hk answers might not 
 
LETTER XXIV. 249 
 
 " injure others. He subsequently informed Giddings that he 
 " had told the foreman what Giddings knew of the affair, and 
 " that the foreman would put no question but what Giddings 
 " could safely answer." Nay, more than all, " while this 
 "jury was in session, the foreman took Eli Bruce privately 
 " into a side room, and was there with him some time. And 
 " this grand jury, so far from finding any indictment against 
 " Eli Bruce, or any other person, drew up a presentment 
 " to the court, that they had discovered nothing which would 
 "authorise them to find a bill against any person, and also 
 " framed and sent a memorial to the Governor, in which 
 " they stated that there was not a shadow of testimony im- 
 " plicating Eli Bruce, as guilty of, or accessary to, the ab- 
 " duction of Morgan, with the exception of one witness, 
 "who was so contradicted, and whose general reputation 
 " was so bad, that they did not place any reliance upon it." 
 
 This, sir, forms but a single chapter of the deep and 
 wide-spread iniquity which has impeded the march of jus- 
 tice in relation to the Morgan conspiracy. And there are 
 more to come. Is there, then, sir, let me again ask, any 
 cause for special wonder that the people should have been 
 excited — strongly and fiercely excited — while such trans- 
 actions, under the pretext of a due administration of the 
 law, were taking place under their own eyes I 
 
 Accept, sir, the assurances of my respectful considera- 
 tion. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 25, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 It was on the Gth of March, 1827, that the memorials 
 
 of the Lewistou convention, and others, upon the subject of 
 
 32 
 
250 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 the abduction of Morgan, were first presented to the House 
 of Assembly of the New- York Legislature. The prayer 
 of the petitioners was for the enactment of more efficient 
 laws for the punishment of the crime of kidnapping ; for 
 the adoption of more energetic measures for discovering the 
 authors of the outrage complained of; and for the appoint- 
 ment of a special commission, or tribunal of justice, for the 
 trial and punishment of the offenders. The memorials were, 
 in the first instance, referred to the committee on courts of 
 justice, but subsequently they were taken from that com- 
 mittee, and entrusted to a special committee, of which Mr. 
 Granger, of Ontario, was chairman. This committee made 
 a long report upon the subject, on the 4th of April. After 
 setting forth, briefly, the extraordinary facts of the case, 
 and examining the nature of the testimony by which they 
 were sustained, the committee arrived at a conclusion un- 
 favorable to the creation of a special tribunal for that sec- 
 tion of the country, clothed with special and peculiar powers 
 for investigating the transaction submitted to their conside- 
 ration. They did propose, however, two important reso- 
 lutions, the first of which authorised and empowered the 
 Governor to issue his proclamation, oflTering a reward of 
 five thousand dollars, for the discovery of the said William 
 Morgan, if living ; and the like sum of five thousand dol- 
 lars, for the murderer or murderers of Morgan, if dead. 
 The second resolution proposed the appointment of a joint 
 committee of the two houses of the legislature, consisting 
 of two members of the Senate, and three members of the 
 Assembly, whose duty it should be to visit the region of 
 the excitement, now including seven counties, with power 
 to send for persons and papers, to inquire into the facts and 
 circumstances connected with the abduction, and making it 
 their duty to report their proceedings to the next succeeding 
 legislature, that such measures might afterwards be adopt- 
 ed, as the liberty and safety of the people required. The 
 
LETTER XXIV. 251 
 
 report and resolutions were ordered to lie on the table and 
 be printed. 
 
 They were called up for discussion on the 10th of April, 
 and underwent a long debate. Mr. Granger explained the 
 views of the committee, and defended the report with dis- 
 tinguished ability. The friends of the report were opposed 
 to the erection of any new legal tribunal, not only from the 
 intrinsic difficulties that would attend such a measure ; but 
 from a belief that such a novel court would tend to increase, 
 rather than diminish, the excitement ; but it was believed 
 that the appointment of a special committee for investigat- 
 ing the whole matter, clothed with the power of the legis- 
 lature, would inspire the people with confidence, and allay 
 the agitation of the public mind. The resolutions were 
 strongly opposed by several gentlemen, among the foremost 
 of whom, were, Mr. Bucklin, of Jefferson ; Mr. Moseley, of 
 Onondaga ; and Gen. Root, of Delaware. The leading ob- 
 jections were, that the amount of money proposed to be of- 
 fered as a reward, would open the tribunals of justice in the 
 excited region, to such scenes of fraud and perjury, stimula- 
 ted by cupidity, and pushed on by the frenzy of the public 
 mind, as would jeopard the best interests of the people, and 
 involve alike, the innocent in ruin with the guilty. It was 
 not believed, by the opponents of the report, that the case 
 was beyond the reach of the laws ; and they contended 
 that a committee of the legislature might as well be sent 
 in pursuit of every absconding murderer, as in search of 
 those who had abducted Morgan, — for, as yet, there was 
 no testimony of his having been killed. Neither the com- 
 mittee in the report, nor did its chairman in opening the 
 debate, make any allusion to the institution of Freemasonry, 
 as having been the cause of the outrage, and the conse- 
 quent excitement. But the institution was introduced by 
 the opponents of the report ; and Mr. Bucklin made several 
 statements that had an evident effect against its adoption. 
 
252 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Being himself a Mason, Mr. B. stated, as an evidence of the 
 dangerous extent to which the excitement had arisen, that 
 but a few days before, a gentleman from the west, under- 
 standing that he was one of the order, plainly told him that 
 he must of course know all about the Morgan business ; 
 whether he was alive ; and, if so, where he was. Mr. B. 
 likewise commented upon the inflammatory and violent pro- 
 ceedings of the public meetings at the west, among which 
 had been several assemblages of the ladies, who had resolved 
 that their daughters should never be married to Freema- 
 sons. He further stated, that, as chairman of a committee 
 to whom the subject of public executions had been referred, 
 he had reported a bill, directing the sentence of the law, in 
 capital cases, to be carried into effect in private. For this 
 report he was directly threatened, by letters from Batavia, 
 the writers of which conceived the bill to be a project for 
 shielding Freemasons from the disgrace of being hung in 
 public ! Mr. Granger strongly deprecated the course of the 
 debate. The committee had hoped that the resolutions 
 would be acted upon without reference to the character or 
 conduct of any secret association. They had denounced 
 none : they had spoken of the transaction as a violation of 
 the rights of a citizen, owing allegiance to, and protected by, 
 the government, and he expressed his surprise and regret 
 at the course that had been pursued by the gentlemen op- 
 posed to him. Tlie result was the rejection of the report, 
 by a vote of 74 to 23. 
 
 On the 10th of April, however, an act was passed mak- 
 ing the a])duction or kidnapping of any person felony, which 
 had only been a misdemeanor before ; and the punishment 
 was prescribed to be imprisonment in the state prison for a 
 term of not exceeding fourteen years. Thus ends the le- 
 gislative history of Anti-masonry for the first year. 
 
 Towards the close of the month of March, the storm 
 raged so licrcely against the fraternity, that a few of its 
 
LETTER XXIV. 253 
 
 members at Batavia, offered a reward of one hundred dol- 
 lars, for the discovery of those who had set fire to Miller's 
 office. This prodigious -effort was made seven months af- 
 ter the transaction, and after those in the secret very well 
 knew that the offender was safe from arrest. 
 
 A grand jury assembled again in Monroe county, in this 
 same month of March. A majority of them were Masons, 
 and the efforts for a farther investigation of the conspiracy, 
 were so faint, that no indictments were found. At the 
 Court of Oyer and Terminer in Niagara county, held in 
 April, and also at the Court of General Sessions in the same 
 county, for May, grand juries were assembled ; but Bruce 
 had packed them with large majorities of Masons. The 
 conduct of the April grand jury has already been noticed, 
 in anticipation. Tliat of May was of so decidedly a ma- 
 sonic character, that it was deemed entirely useless to make 
 any complaint before it. 
 
 At the Court of Oyer and Terminer, held in the county 
 of Genesee, in April, 1827, — the Hon. John Birdsall, of the 
 eighth Circuit, presiding, — came on the trial of Jesse 
 French, James Hurlburt, Roswell Wilcox, and James Gan- 
 son, who had been indicted in October of the year before, 
 for the outrage upon Col. Miller. French, Wilcox, and 
 Hurlburt, were found guilty, and sentenced to close con- 
 finement in the county jail for different periods — viz. French, 
 the officer, as it will be recollected, who served the warrant 
 under color of which Miller had been carried away, — was 
 sentenced for one year, Wilcox for six months, and Hurl- 
 burt for three. The whole history of the outrage, as elici- 
 ted upon this trial, corresponds, with great exactness, with 
 the account given in a former letter. It appeared, in addi- 
 tion to what I have tl ;>rc stated, that when Miller was ta- 
 ken into the lodge-room in the stone-house at Stafford, the 
 door was " tyled" by two armed men. When Johns came 
 in with a drawn sword, he advanced in a threatening man- 
 
254 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 ner upon Miller, until, after expostulation, he appeared to 
 relent, and gave the faltering reply heretofore mentioned. 
 It also appeared upon this trial, that the money, for the re- 
 covery of which a feigned suit had been commenced in thifi 
 most extraordinary manner, was actually pressed upon 
 Miller's acceptance by Johns. It was proved, very dis- 
 tinctly, by several witnesses, that Ganson was regularly ap- 
 pointed the captain, or leader of the armed mob which went 
 to Batavia on that occasion ; that he was there in person ; 
 was also with them in Stafford, where they halted so long ; 
 and likewise at Le Roy, where, during the difficulties, as 
 formerly related, Miller was rescued, and taken home by 
 his friends. It was also satisfactorily proved, that they had 
 no design of carrying Miller to the magistrate, but were 
 clearly intent on taking him, to use their own language, 
 " where Morgan was/' Mrs. Morgan, an unimpeachable 
 witness on the trial, testified that Ganson informed her that 
 he knew the mob was going to Batavia. On her return 
 from the fruitless mission to Canandaigua, in search of her 
 husband, Ganson had assured her, that if she never saw her 
 husband again, she should be supported ; he said he was 
 very much obliged to her for giving up the papers, adding, 
 that if they had not been given up. Miller's office would 
 have been torn down. It had, therefore, saved them a great 
 deal of trouble and expense. Miller, he declared, deserved 
 a worse fate than her husband, and would be punished 
 worse, for they had two hundred and eighty men at their 
 command. But, notwithstanding the testimony of this de- 
 scription, and the indisputable fact, that he was appointed 
 the leader of the gang in the lodge-room at Stafford, before 
 they proceeded for Batavia, Ganson was acquitted. Although 
 there were no improper practices resorted to, either with 
 the witnesses or jurors, on this trial, that attracted the at- 
 tention of the court, yet the result excited more attention, 
 and induced more suspicion, from the ilict of the acquittal 
 
LETTER XXIVc 255 
 
 of the man who was known and proved to have been the 
 captain of the band, and the main-spring of the expedition, 
 while those who acted a subordinate part, were convicted. 
 As to the witnesses who were imphcated more or less in 
 the transaction, there was the prevarication and forgetful- 
 ness common to most interested witnesses, and ^^othing 
 more. Ganson, however, though a high Mason, was a man 
 of standing, of wealth, and of influence. Great efforts were 
 made by his counsel ; and the presiding judge has informed 
 me, that although his acquittal was a matter of surprise to 
 him, yet he has been as much disappointed in the verdicts 
 of juries, both before and since that trial. Two other in- 
 dictments were found against Ganson, at the same term of 
 the court, — one for a conspiracy with Daniel Johns and 
 George Ketchum, to obtain Morgan's manuscripts, or print- 
 ed sheets, — the other for a conspiracy with sixteen others, 
 to destroy Miller's office, 
 
 Not the least remarkable feature of the Anti-masonic ex- 
 citement, was the successive alternations which for a long 
 time took place in the public sentiment. I do not speak, 
 now, of the public feeling in the disturbed district, for 
 within the boundaries of that territory, enlarging as addi- 
 tional towns and counties caught the fever, the spirit, once 
 awakened, was much the same. It was speedily aroused 
 to the highest point of excitation, when, after exhausting it- 
 self with over-action, it settled down into the solemn and 
 deliberate purpose of prosecuting an endless war against 
 Masons and Masonry. But at a distance, where the facts 
 and circumstances appealed to the judgments, rather than 
 the feelings, of men, the effects were different. With such, 
 the thousand stories set afloat by those interested upon both 
 sides at the west, — the one party wishing to increase and 
 extend the excitement, and the other to diminish it, the per- 
 plexities in which people were continually involved, were 
 very great. The Anti-masons, or rather that portion of 
 
256 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 them whose chief object was to make a living out of it, 
 were equally ingenious and industrious in the multiplication 
 of masonic murders; and many were the suicides, long 
 gone by, and forgotten by every body save the coroners 
 who had sat upon them, or the editors who had chronicled 
 them, that were now raked up in all their terrific details, 
 and the half-remembered circumstances so warped and em- 
 bellished, as to make it appear at least possible that in fact 
 the deceased might have been murdered by the Masons. 
 Stories of this class were greedily published, and as greedily 
 believed by thousands of people, who never troubled them- 
 selves to inquire into the circumstances, or even the pro- 
 babilities of the respective cases. On the other hand, the 
 Morgan abductors were equally active in distracting the 
 public mind, with regard to the absent victim of their ven- 
 geance. 
 
 The reluctance of the people eastwardly of the Cayuga 
 bridge, to believe the worst that had been asserted, was very 
 great ; willing ears were consequently lent to every tale, 
 wearing an air of probability, going to exculpate the accu- 
 sed from the more aggravated part of the accusations under 
 which they were laboring, if no more. Various accounts 
 of the existence of Morgan, were coined and put into cir- 
 culation, and some of them given with so much particulari- 
 ty of the times, places, and circumstances, under which he had 
 actually been seen, as also by whom, and so plausibly told 
 withal, that the former opinion, viz : that Morgan was in 
 fact living, and only keeping out of sight until the books 
 could be sold, was extensively revived in the month of May. 
 The account of his having been seen somewhere in the inte- 
 rior of Canada, keeping a retail grocery concern, though 
 widely circulated, was not much credited. But there was 
 one statement published at this time, which I am free to 
 confess greatly staggered my own behef in his death. It 
 inust be n^.coIJccted that the Lewiston convention had not 
 
LETTER XXIV. 257 
 
 yet put forth its official report, as digested from the evidence 
 they had obtained. Bruce, when first arrested, and brought 
 before a magistrate, in December, had been discharged, be- 
 cause it did not appear, from the evidence adduced, that 
 any such person as Morgan had been with him. The trial 
 of Cheseboro, had not traced the absentee twenty rods from 
 the jail of Canandaigua : that of Ganson and others, scarce- 
 ly involved the name of Morgan, as Miller only was direct- 
 ly concerned in that transaction : Mann, who had made 
 the disclosures respecting Howard, was now insane : other 
 occasional disclosures from the Lewiston committees had 
 fallen into disrepute. All the attempts to procure indict- 
 ments in Monroe and Niagara counties, where the suspi- 
 sions of guilt were fastened upon certain persons the strong- 
 est, had failed. And the manner in which those grand ju- 
 ries had been summoned, and the gross violations of their 
 duty, in shielding the persons implicated, by preventing the 
 disclosure of facts, and thus stopping the fountains of jus- 
 tice, as I have already stated, were not yet known to us in 
 the eastern and southern sections of the state. Accustomed 
 to the regular and harmonious movement of all the machine- 
 ry of our civil and criminal courts, and the steady adminis- 
 tration of the laws, in their purity and their might, we 
 could not suppose, — the possibility of the thing was not 
 dreamed of, — that the judges and magistracy of the land 
 could be thus mocked, and the sword and balances of Jus- 
 tice herself, snatched from her hands, by the primary 
 inquests — the grand jurors of the land — selected, as they 
 had ever been, and were yet supposed to be, from the most 
 intelligent and respectable yeomanry of the country. And 
 when the accused had been again and again pronounced 
 guiltless by these preliminary tribunals, if I may call them 
 such, nothing could be more natural and proper than that 
 we should again pause and suspend our opinions. It was 
 
 under circumstances like these, that accounts, apparently 
 
 83 
 
258 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 well authenticated, reached us from Boston, that Morgan 
 himself had been seen in that city. Davids, one of his 
 partners in the book concern, had been in New- York seve- 
 ral weeks during the winter, and it was now said he was in 
 Boston, where a large edition of the masonic revelations 
 was printing in the Spanish language, with which New- 
 Orleans, and the people of Mexico, were to be supplied. 
 Circumstances were stated, with an air of sincerity and 
 truth, that even Loton Lawson, Whitney, and Smith, were 
 all secretly interested in the book, and that the former had 
 encountered the imprisonment which he was then suffering, 
 as a part of the scheme, — knowing that he was sure to come 
 out of prison with a fortune, — while Smith and Whitney had 
 departed for New-Orleans, to take charge of the adventure 
 in that part of the world. But the most imposing part of 
 the tale was the circumstance reported, that a gentleman 
 from Batavia, a Mr. Brown, whose name was given, and 
 who was well acquainted with Morgan, being in Boston 
 upon business, had actually seen him in the street. Mor- 
 gan, it was asserted, was partially disguised, and when 
 accosted by name, by his former neighbor, appeared some- 
 what disconcerted at first ; but drew his cloak close around 
 his face, and turned off into another street. He was pui'- 
 sued for some distance, through various streets and alleys, 
 and ultimately avoided a positive disclosure, by losing him- 
 self in a crowd of people. The editor of a paper published 
 at Pawtucket, concluded the account as follows : — " Such 
 " are the facts stated at the time by Brown, of whom loe 
 " know nothing, but have only the particulars from a geu- 
 " tleman who received them from Brown himself, and from 
 " others to whom he related them, in Boston and Newbiiry- 
 " port, where he gave an account of the matter. We do 
 " not hesitate to say, that our authority is respectable and 
 " authentic, ctnd that ivc shall at all times hold ourselves re- 
 " sponsible for the statement we have made,^' This state- 
 
LETTER XXV. 259 
 
 ment was fully corroborated by the Masonic Mirror, pub- 
 lished in Boston, the editor of which positively avowed his 
 belief that Morgan was in that city, living incog., and pre- 
 paring to extend the book speculation, as before mentioned. 
 These accounts created a re-action in the public mind, 
 which continued for several weeks, although circumstances 
 soon transpired to convince me that they were but another 
 attempt to deceive. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 New- York, Feb. 27, 1832. 
 Sm, 
 
 The next step of this important history, was the an- 
 nual communication of the Grand Lodge of the state, which 
 assembles in the city of New-York, on the first Wednes- 
 day in June, of each year. This body has the supreme 
 government and control of the lodges of Master Masons, 
 as the Grand Chapter has of the Royal Arch ; and I looked 
 forward to the meeting with no little interest. Dissatisfied, 
 as I had been, with the Grand Chapter, albeit as yet igno- 
 rant of the iniquity of its secret counsels, I hoped, on this 
 first assembling of the Grand Lodge since the perpetration 
 of the Morgan outrage, that a thorough investigation would 
 be set on foot by this body, — the conduct of the lodges un- 
 der its jurisdiction, supposed to have been either directly or 
 indirectly implicated, inquired into, — and the charters of 
 offending lodges withdrawn, &c. I had another purpose in 
 view. I did entertain a hope, that, from my extensive ac- 
 quaintance with the fraternity, and by the help of my Free- 
 masonry, I should be enabled to penetrate the great secret 
 
260 LETTER XXV. 
 
 of Morgan's fate. And I accordingly devised such schemes 
 as seemed best for the accomplishment of that object. 
 
 A day or two previously to the meeting of the Grand Lodge, 
 I had the honor of a call from Eli Bruce. I v^^as aware that 
 lie had been cited by Governor Clinton to show cause why he 
 should not be removed from the sheriffalty of Niagara, for 
 his allcdged participation in the Morgan outrage. Indeed, 
 although Gov. C. has frequently been censured for the deli- 
 beration with which he proceeded in this matter, as well as 
 upon other points of this controversy, yet it is a fact, as must 
 already have been seen from one of his letters, that it was 
 at his suggestion, after he had seen the deposition of Mo- 
 sher and others, that a complaint against Bruce had been 
 formally laid before him. Mr. Bruce stated to me that he had 
 come to New- York to make his defence, — Gov. Clinton 
 having left Albany for a visit of a few weeks to this city. 
 He presented me a lettel* of introduction from a valued 
 friend, one of the most intelligent and estimable gentlemen 
 in the western country, and in whose judgment I have great 
 confidence. This gentleman spoke very kindly of Bruce ; 
 stated that he had visited the county of Niagara, and inqui- 
 red particularly into the causes of the excitement ; that he 
 believed Bruce to be an injured and innocent man ; and in 
 conclusion desired me to examine the papers which formed 
 the defence which Mr. B. was about to submit to the Gov- 
 ernor. As Mr. B. himself joined in this request, I did so, 
 and passed a very long evening with him. In looking over 
 his papers, I found them materially defective, as a defence, 
 and after a long examination of him, by way of question 
 and cross-question, although he exerted himself greatly to 
 persuade me of his entire innocence of the wliole transac- 
 tion, and his ignorance of Morgan, I yet came to the conclu- 
 sion that he was clearly guilty of aiding in the abduction. 
 Of the murder, or any participation therein, I did not then. 
 
LETTER XXV. 261 
 
 nor have I ever since, believed Bruce to be guilty. I believe 
 he is naturally a kind-hearted, and an amiable man. We 
 parted late in the night, and I have never had any conver- 
 sation with him since. Gov. Clinton was absent from the 
 city, during the wliole time of Brucc's visit, — being then on 
 a tour through Connecticut and Vermont, visiting the Farm- 
 ington Canal, and exploring the valley of the Connecticut, 
 with a view to the improvement of its navigation to Barnet, 
 in the latter state. The hearing, therefore, did not take place 
 until September. His defence consisted chiefly, if not alto- 
 ?j;ether, of aflidavits, the object of which was to impeach the 
 character of Moshcr, and to discredit the statement of Cory- 
 don Fox ; but there was no attempt to explain the part 
 which he himself had enacted on the memorable night of 
 the 13th September, either by his own affidavit, or any affi- 
 davits from his friends. He was removed from office by 
 Gov. Clinton, and the act was a righteous one. 
 
 I w^as not a member of the Grand Lodge. Those only 
 are such who are actually masters or wardens of lodges fol' 
 the time being, or who are past-masters of lodges. Of 
 course I could only exercise my right of visiting it, without 
 participating in its deliberations. This it had been my prac- 
 tice for years to do : and, full of hope that I should find 
 that right worshipful body engaged in deliberating upon 
 some efficient measures for an investigation of the cause of 
 the excitement yet raging at the west with all its original 
 virulence, I repaired to the lodge-room as usual. Little, 
 however, did I imagine the reception with which I was to 
 meet from a portion of my brethren. There were many old 
 friends with whom I met as cordially as in former times. 
 But there were others whose countenances fi'owned darkly 
 upon me ; while others, still, assailed mc w^ith angry and 
 violent language, chai'ging mc, with eyes flashing revenge- 
 fully, with being a deserter, a revealer of secrets, an Anti- 
 mason, (fee. There was much excitement and irritation in 
 
jiSSt LETTER XXV. 
 
 the circle that gathered round me, and it was declared by 
 one or more, that if they could only obtain copies of some 
 of the articles which I had written against the abduction of 
 Morgan, there should be a resolution for my expulsion on 
 the following day. I repelled their upbraidings with all 
 possible calmness, and assured them that if they would call 
 at my office early on the ensuing morning, they should hare 
 the use of our files of papers to make as many copies as 
 they pleased, — adding, that I would assist them in the search 
 with the utmost pleasure. 
 
 On the following morning two or three of the brethren 
 called upon me, and the files were examined. If, sir, you 
 will pardon my prolixity upon this point, — a point, by the 
 way, which, though apparently interesting chiefly to myself, 
 is not altogether without interest to the public as connected 
 with this transaction, — I will cite the passages from my 
 editorial writings, which had given such mortal ofience. 
 By these citations, — and they shall be very brief, — you will 
 be the better enabled to judge as to the temper and disposi- 
 tion of the body from whom I had been hoping to see a 
 thorough investigation of the Morgan business undertaken. 
 
 I have already stated the determination to which I came, 
 so soon as I was convinced that the high-handed outrage 
 complained of at the west, had actually been committed, to 
 publish, fearlessly, and independently, the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth, so far as that could be eli- 
 cited, of the whole matter. And I was likewise determined, 
 that the voice of no Anti-mason should ring deeper than 
 mine, in the denunciation of the crime. Accordingly, in the 
 course of an editorial article on the day upon which I re- 
 ceived the letter from Mr. Spencer, before referred to, viz : 
 on the 13th of February, 1827, I held the following lan- 
 guage : — 
 
 " We feel it a duty to state, that, not satisfied with the 
 ^' newspaper accounts, we have written to a gentleman of 
 
LETTER XXV. 263 
 
 " high standing, whose official relations enable him to speak 
 " with more than common authority ; and the answer just 
 " received, has made an impression far different from what 
 " we had hoped, or anticipated. In one word, then, although 
 " there is as yet no direct and positive proof of the fact, 
 " we have but too much reason to fear that the worst is 
 " true ; and that a few misguided, heated, and ignorant ma- 
 " sonic fanatics, have inflicted a wound upon the fraternity 
 " to which we have felt it a pleasure to belong, which it 
 " will require years to heal, and fixed a stain upon the cha- 
 " racter of the institution, which all the waters of Niagara 
 " cannot wash away." 
 
 Much to my astonishment, the article from which I have 
 quoted, called forth a reply in one of the gazettes in this 
 city, in which, whatever the fate of Morgan might be proved 
 to have been, the aggressors were justified. My rejoinder 
 was prompt and equally decided in its tone. After giving 
 concisely my views of the nature of the masonic obliga- 
 tions, my article, published on the 20th of February, was 
 concluded thus : — 
 
 " Away, then, with these sickly attempts to extenuate 
 " the conduct of the aggressors in this affair. Be Morgan 
 " dead, or be he living, there is no masonic excuse for the 
 " violation of the civil law. If he be living, let the ma- 
 " sonic fanatics who carried him off, make it manifest. Let 
 " them produce him, if he be yet within their power, or 
 " prove the fact, if (as they were then pretending) he is 
 " concerned in a plot .to keep out of view until his fortune 
 " is made by the sale of his book. But if he has been put 
 " to death, let none ' lay the flattering unction to their souls,' 
 " that his blood is not in their skirts. What though he had 
 " proved recreant to his principles, and violated the oath ho 
 " had taken to preserve the secrets '>[ the order, — shall a 
 " band of men, in a moment of indignation, deliberately 
 " put to death a fcl low-being, who, for the same oflcnce, if 
 
264 LETTER XXV. 
 
 " committed against the state, would only be consigned by 
 " law to the state prison ! It cannot be. tvcry Mason 
 *' should set his face against such monstrous opinions. We 
 " repeat it, as a member of the masonic fraternity, that if 
 " Morgan has been put to death — God forbid that it should 
 " prove so — his blood cries from the ground for vengeance 
 " as loud as did the blood of Abel !" 
 
 Ten days afterwards, the mail from Washington brought 
 me a threatening letter, which, having been somewhat cele- 
 brated from its frequent quotation by the Anti-masonic wri- 
 ters, I may, perha})s, as well insert in this place. It had 
 the Washington post-mark, and was dated 
 
 " Washington, February 25, 1827. 
 "Sir, 
 
 " Your remarks relating to the case of Morgan, arc 
 fraught with ill to the order to which you unworthily belong; 
 and if justice is done you, you also will have your throat 
 cut, for writing and printing certain things appertaining to 
 our ancient science. You spoke of ' obligations,' and their 
 interdictions and exceptions. I can only at this time assure 
 you, that my business only prevents my coming directly on 
 to you; but the 4th of June will be time enough, you damn- 
 ed ' recreant,' when and where you shall see * a sprig of 
 locust.' " 
 
 There was no mistaking this letter. It came from a Ma- 
 son. It was conceived in the same temper and disposition 
 which had conspired against the wretched Morgan ; and it 
 breathed the same spirit that was afterwards manifested 
 towards me by a portion of the Grand Lodge, in conse- 
 quence of the identical publications which called it forth. 
 The letter was published at the time with such comments 
 as its insolent ferocity seemed to require ; and I made many 
 unsuccessful clTorts to ascertain who was the author. One 
 
LETTER XXV. 265 
 
 of the Morgan conspirators, and doubtless a principal, was 
 at Washington at or about the time the letter was written, 
 and he was probably the instigator of the threat, if not the 
 writer. 
 
 But to return again to the Grand Lodge: after looking 
 the articles over closely, the idea of arraigning me as a 
 traitor was abandoned ; and the gentlemen left me with 
 the most positive assurances on my part, that they might at 
 all times depend upon the strongest opposition from me, 
 against all infractions of the laws, for whatever purpose, or 
 by whomsoever committed. After these occurrences, how- 
 ever, I entertained no farther expectation that any efficient 
 movement on the part of the Grand Lodge, to inquire into 
 the western outrages, or even to censure the authors, would 
 be adopted. But I was not even yet prepared to witness 
 an open and unblushing grant of money, by the Grand 
 Lodge, to one of the most active conspirators. Such, how- 
 ever, was the fact, as I have already had occasion to state 
 to the public. The grant was not great, it is true ; but it 
 was large enough to determine the principle. Eli Bruce 
 had asked for a donation of two hundred and fifty dollars, 
 to make up for losses, in consequence of what were called 
 the persecutions against him, by the Anti-masons. One 
 hundred dollars were voted to him, and the residue of the 
 sum was made up by contributions from individuals in this 
 city. It is doubtless true that a portion of the members of 
 the Grand Lodge believed Bruce to be an injured man. 
 And the hostilities of the Anti-masons had been so indiscri- 
 minately waged against the members of the fraternity, that 
 they naturally felt a sympathy for such as they might be in- 
 duced to believe had been persecuted. But it was known 
 that Bruce was kboring under the strongest suspicion, and 
 that the chief magistrate of the state, who was also the 
 highest masonic officer in the country, had ordered him to 
 show cause why he should not be removed from the office 
 
 34 
 
260 LETTER XXV. 
 
 of sheriff, the duties of which he had so greatly abused. 
 There were, moreover, in the Grand Lodge at the time, 
 numbers of the leading members of the order, who could 
 not have been ignorant of the real nature of the transac- 
 tions which had disturbed the peace of the west, or of the 
 relation in which Bruce stood to those transactions. Un- 
 der these circumstances, when I saw that appropriation 
 made, my own course was taken. I have never crossed 
 
 THE THRESHOLD OF A LODGE-ROOM SINCE. 
 
 The Grand Lodge adjourned, without attempting even so 
 much as a resolution in testimony of its own innocence, or 
 by way of a rebuke to offending brethren. I pushed my 
 own investigations, however, on my own account, and suc- 
 ceeded, as I then supposed, in a tolerably accurate ascer- 
 tainment of the facts of the case. A friend of mine, a dis- 
 tinguished Mason, who had formerly resided in Erie coun- 
 ty, on the Niagara, but was, at the time of which I am now 
 writing, sheriff of Huron county, Ohio, while on his way to 
 this city, lingered a week on the Niaga*ra, for the sole pur- 
 pose of satisfying his own mind as to this extraordinary 
 case. Knowing the leading members of the order in that 
 county, he felt a strong degree of confidence that he should 
 be able to penetrate the mystery ; and he did so, to his own 
 satisfaction, save only in regard to the names of the actors 
 in the closing scene. He arrived at the conclusion, that 
 Morgan was taken over into Canada a second time, and 
 carried upon the Canadian shore twenty-five or thirty miles 
 above Niagara, near the foot of Lake Erie. He was there 
 taken, at the dead hour of midnight, to the river's edge, and 
 a heavy stone made fast to his body. He was next lashed 
 upon a plank, which was moored along side of a boat. Four 
 persons then entered the boat—one Englishman, one Cana- 
 dian, and two Americans—and rowed out into the middle of 
 the stream, where tfie cord binding the victim to theplnnk. 
 -was cut, and the wretched mnn cast into the -embrace of 
 
LETTER XXVI. 267 
 
 the dark and angry wave, sweeping impetuously towards 
 the cataract. Morgan, it was said, neither wept, nor spoke, 
 during this dreadful scene : but the drops of perspiration 
 stood heavily upon his face. Such was the relation, which, 
 for a whole year, I so fully believed that I wrote to a mem- 
 ber of the Lewiston committee a full account of the tragedy. 
 But I have since been told that my letter was very chari- 
 tably construed into an attempt, on my part, to deceive the 
 committee, and prevent them from finding the remains of 
 the body, in search of which, they were then sweeping the 
 bed of the Niagara. 
 
 My informant, who is no longer of this world, visited 
 New- York again, in the spring of 1828. We had a full 
 conversation upon the subject, and he now assured me that 
 he knew not what to believe, since he had no doubt, from 
 subsequent investigations, that he had been deceived in the 
 former relation throughout. 
 
 I am, sir, very truly, yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXVL 
 
 New- York, Feb. 28, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 It would puzzle the ingenuity of man to devise a more 
 injudicious and unwise measure, on the part of the Masons, 
 than that which next demands my attention. It was so irri- 
 tating in itself, towards a community, already excited almost 
 to, the highest pitch of exasperation, so uncalled for and un- 
 necessary, that I can scarcely rofer to it, even at this late 
 day, with any patience. I allude to the public celebration 
 of the anniversary of St. John the Evangelist, which occur- 
 red on the 25th of June. The stated festivals of the masonic 
 order, are those of the two Johns, the Baptist, and the Evan- 
 
268 LETTER XXVT. 
 
 gelist, both of whom are claimed as having been illustrious 
 patrons of the order, although both were in " the celestial 
 " lodge above," many centuries before those below were 
 dreamed of — but that is no matter. One of these anniversa- 
 ries occurs in December, and the other in June ; and it has 
 been the custom of most lodges to pay special attention to 
 one or the other, — rarely to both in the same year, — and 
 still more rarely to distinguish either by th public celebration, 
 and a procession, &c. The persons most ambitious for 
 these displays, have usually been young Masons, and recent- 
 ly created lodges and chapters, at times when they could 
 march forth with their new jewels and robes, their bright 
 crimson sashes, and ample draperies of silk and purple, and 
 the various other glittering insignia which go to make up. a 
 brilliant pageant. These recreations have always been ve- 
 ry harmless, so far as my own experience and observation 
 enable me to decide ; and they would doubtless have con- 
 tinued pleasant and agreeable divertisements, so long as the 
 wisdom, and the deep and hidden mysteries of the order, re- 
 mained undisclosed to the profane gaze of the vulgar. 
 
 It would have argued exceedingly bad taste, however, in 
 a country in which all can read, and where the secrets of 
 the inmost recesses of the order wore hawking about at 
 every corner, for a shilling, or twenty-five cents at the ut- 
 most, even under the most peaceable circumstances, for the 
 craft to have essayed another public spectacle, where, if 
 they could continue to look grave themselves, they surely 
 could not escape the smiles and the ridicule of the specta- 
 tors. But in a community burning with such an excitement 
 as that which now raged over the whole country, to attempt 
 to brave public opinion by such a display, disclosed a lack 
 of wisdom, of tact, and a want of knowledge of human na- 
 ture, rarely to be met with. The manner, moreover, in 
 which the business was taken in hand, was equally ill-judg- 
 ed. Not content with tlic customary mode of announcing 
 
LETTER xxvr. 269 
 
 the intended festivities, the notices were sent forth six weeks 
 in anticipation of the period, and in a style of bravado, os- 
 tentation, and contempt for public opinion, calculated at 
 once to arouse into action all the angry passions which pru- 
 dence itself could at any time scarcely restrain. The fra- 
 ternity were summoned to the gathering, far and near, 
 " Knights, companions and brethren," to make up the array, 
 and march forth in all the pride, pomp and circumstance 
 of " glorious Masonry," — as in times when it was alledged 
 that the world were striving in vain to gain their secret, — 
 a treasure, which they fain would have had the uninitiated 
 believe as far above price, as the precious stone of the Tal- 
 mud, which, being suspended in the ark of the covenant for 
 the dispensation of light, illuminated the interior of that sa- 
 cred casket with the resplendent beams of its own celestial 
 radiance. 
 
 The effect of this procedure upon the public mind, may 
 readily be imagined. Of itself it was sufficient to give of- 
 fence to all those, who, from the recent occurrences in Ba- 
 tavia, now held the institution in abhorrence ; but, seized 
 upon, as all must have foreseen it would be, and as it was, 
 by those who had an interest in continuing the agitation, it 
 provoked an excessive fermentation. On several previous 
 occasions, rumors had been set afloat which tested the public 
 feeling in a manner too unequivocal to be disregarded. The 
 slightest indication that the Masons had yet some lingering 
 designs against Col. Miller, had more than once brought 
 swarms of the people into the village, with arms, as if for 
 bloody combat ; and now that a large muster of Masons 
 had been summoned, a single whisper getting abroad, how- 
 ever baseless in its origin, or sinister in its object, was suffi- 
 cient to cause armed hosts to spring up as vigorous and bold 
 as the Macedonian phalanx. It was even so. The ap- 
 pearance of the notice was tFie signal for the tocsin, and it 
 was sounded with great industry, and incredible effect. Pub- 
 
270 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 lications of a highly inflammatory nature were put forth ; 
 the most infamous insinuations as to the real objects of the 
 celebration were published ; and every possible effort that 
 could be resorted to, without transgressing the law, was 
 made, to excite the apprehensions, and the passions, of the 
 jx)pulace against the masonic order. The object of the ce- 
 lebration was known to all. It could not be mistaken. It 
 was designed solely to show the Anti-masons that they were 
 determined not to be put down by clamor, or by what they 
 considered a persecuting crusade against the whole, for the 
 misdeeds, as all pretended, and many believed, of a few. It 
 was in all respects pacific, and yet it was got up solely in a 
 spirit of resistance to that current of prejudice, and that 
 tide of popular opinion, which was rolling in against it with 
 a swell that became heavier with each successive up-rising 
 of the sun. The idea of another masonic outrage, by those 
 who had — most indiscreetly, it is true — undertaken this 
 celebration, was too absurd to be entertained by a man in 
 his senses, for a moment ; and yet it was asked in the anti- 
 masonic papers — " What can be the ol)iect of calling so 
 " many Masons together ? .Why should the members of 
 " distant lodges and chapters be summoned ? Whose hou- 
 " ses are to be burnt or demolished ? Who is to be kidnap- 
 *' pcd and murdered ?" These questions I have copied 
 from a Batavia paper of that day ; and I might select many 
 more ap})eals to the fears, and the passions of the people, 
 uttered in the same strain. Nor were they without cflcct. 
 A county meeting of the people was called to assemble at 
 the court house in the same village, on the same day, and it 
 was intimated that it would be advisable to come armed. 
 Accordingly, at the time appointed, while the Masons were 
 gathering into the village, sin^^iy and in pairs, with no other 
 arms than those hanging from their shoulders, or perchance 
 their squares and compasses,* and the rods of the stewards, 
 the extraordinary spectacle was exhibited of a whole peo- 
 
LETTER XXVI. 271 
 
 pie, as it were, in motion. The number of Masons who as- 
 sembled, was about three hundred ; but the people flocked 
 in from all directions, and from distant towns and counties, 
 not by tens and hundreds merely, but by thousands. Some 
 were armed with muskets, some with bludgeons, and others 
 with large knives. The muskets, however, I believe, were 
 chiefly, if not all, deposited in places without the viflage, 
 where they could readily be procured if the bloody Masons 
 should attempt to run off with any good citizen, or cut the 
 throat from ear to ear, of any of their own treacherous 
 members. 
 
 Thus did one of the most quiet and peaceable of villages, 
 in the midst of a most staid and intelligent community, pre- 
 sent the extraordinary spectacle of a populace in arms, to 
 the number of from five to seven thousand, for no other rea- 
 son than because a few dozen Freemasons had resolved 
 once more to appear in the streets with their sashes, their 
 silk gowns, and their aprons, and to hear a moral lecture 
 commemorative of the character and virtues of St. John ; 
 inculcating the usual lessons of charity ; and concluding 
 with an impressive exhortation to the members to illustrate 
 by their lives, that exclamation of the Psalmist — " behold 
 " how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell to- 
 " gether in unity !" 
 
 These movements were not contemplated by sober and 
 reflecting men, without great apprehension for the result. 
 It was but too evident from the temper of the assembled 
 multitude, — from the frowning brows, and flashing eyes, — 
 that but a single spark was wanting to fire the train. A 
 single hostile act from one of the proscribed order, would 
 have brought on an aflray that would have added a bloody 
 page to our history. Happily, however, the day passed ofl^ 
 without any <■ ii^':;;. 'iisliuluinco. Tho Masons marched 
 through the str<;(;is, and inarchod back again. Some jiboK 
 »and jeers were utterfid at then expense ; a wa<2:gon was sc* 
 
272 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 veral limes rudely driven across their path, or tlirough their 
 ranks, to annoy them ; and a few stones were cast into 
 their ranks without effect. But they conducted themselves 
 with as much prudence, while engaged in their fete, as they 
 had shown of the opposite commodity in coming thither, 
 under the circumstances, for such a purpose. The Anti- 
 masons held their meeting at the court house — such as could 
 get in — for the whole town was filled ; — an oration w^as 
 pronounced by a gentleman of the bar, and an address de- 
 livered by a clergyman. A series of resolutions were pas- 
 sed, denouncing the legislature for refusing to aid, by a spe- 
 cial enactment, the investigation of the dark conspiracy ; a 
 convention of delegates from the several counties animated 
 by the excitement, was invited to assemble in the course of 
 the following month, " to adopt measures for the public 
 " safety,'* and fresh denunciations were uttered against the 
 press. At night the multitude dispersed, and wxnt quietly 
 to their own homes — the Masons burning with resentment 
 at the insult and contumely with which they had been treat- 
 ed — yet too wise to manifest it by any overt acts ; — and the 
 Anti-masons cherishing the bitterest hatred towards the fra- 
 ternity, and yet restrained from any deeds of violence, by 
 that habitual respect for the laws, which is rarely lost sight 
 of by any collection of our native citizens, and which illus- 
 trates the glorious fact, that as yet, there is in the United 
 States no such thing as an American mob. Long may we 
 be entitled to the proud exception. I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXVIL 
 
 New- York, Feb. 29, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 On the 22d day of May, 1827, came on the trial ol James 
 Lakey, Isaac Evertsoii, Chaunccy H. Coe, ilolloway Hay- 
 
LETTER XXVII. 273 
 
 ward, Hiram Hubbard, John Butterfield, James Ganson 
 Asa Nowlen, Harris Seymour, Henry Howard, and Moses 
 Roberts, before the Court of General Sessions for the coun- 
 ty of Ontario— Judge Howell presiding. These persons 
 had been indicted for a conspiracy to take William Morgan 
 from the jail of Ontario county, to kidnap and remove him 
 to foreign parts, without the jurisdiction of the state, and to 
 secrete and confine him there ; and for actually carrying 
 the conspiracy into effect. Undiminished interest was mani- 
 fested by the public in the progress of these successive 
 trials, and large collections of people attended, as in the 
 case of Cheseboro and others, in the preceding January. 
 Counsel for the people, Messrs. Whiting, (District Attor- 
 ney,) Wilson, Dickson, Talbot, and Benjamin. For the de- 
 fendants, Messrs. Marvin, Sibley, Penfield, Adams, Hubbell, 
 and Barnard. 
 
 In sketching this trial, and the several others that are to 
 follow, I shall, as far as possible, avoid minute details, and 
 repetitions of facts heretofore related, although references 
 to such facts will often become necessary. My object, how- 
 ever, will be, to give all such new facts and circumstances, 
 as are from time to time brought to light, and all those 
 points of the several cases, which will best illustrate the pe- 
 culiar character of this great conspiracy, and the conduct 
 of those who were engaged in it. 
 
 The trial of Evertson, named in the present indictment, 
 was postponed, in consequence of the absence of a material 
 witness ; and in the course of the proceedings, ^7iolle pro- 
 sequi was entered by the public prosecutor, in regard to 
 Butterfield and Nowlen. The case involved the arrest of 
 Morgan, at Batavia, on the morning of the 10th September, 
 1826, and his transportation to Canandaigua. Colonel MiU 
 ler was the first witness called. He testified, (in addition 
 to the particulars heretofore historically related,) that when 
 he came up to the carriage into which Morgan had already 
 
274 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 been thrust at Donald's house, Hayward stepped forward, 
 and declared — " Morgan must and shall go." On being 
 spoken to by Miller, Morgan at first paid no attention, and 
 witness was surprised to see his appearance so much chang- 
 ed. His color had departed, and left an ashy paleness, and 
 his eye seemed fixed and glazed. Miller spoke to him with 
 more energy, upon which he started, and was partly rising, 
 when he was commanded by some one to " sit still," — upon 
 which the door was suddenly shut by Danolds. This last 
 fact was flatly contradicted by Danolds, in a subsequent 
 part of the trial. Dr. Butler, the messenger who went for- 
 ward from Stafford to announce the approach of Cheseboro 
 and Hayward, and their party, to arrest Morgan, testified to 
 the arrival of the Canandaigua party at Staflbrd,and his intro- 
 duction to them. The doctor stated that he tried to dissuade 
 them from their purpose of taking Morgan away, assuring 
 them that it would be bad policy. But they persisted, say- 
 ing: — " We have started for that purpose, and shall go on." 
 The witness said, that as he was then going to Batavia, he 
 was requested to inform Follett and Major Seaver of their 
 approach. He did so ; and Mr. Follett expressed his re- 
 gret upon the subject, as the village had already had trou- 
 ble enough respecting Morgan. As witness was returning 
 to Stafford, on meeting the carriage, he advised them, at 
 the request of Follett, to suspend the procedure. But they 
 were, most of them, determined upon accomplishing their 
 purpose ; and although the carriage was turned about, and 
 driven back to Ganson's tavern, Ganson himself being with 
 it still, yet the others proceeded forward to Batavia on foot. 
 The driver of the coach from Batavia, whose reluctance to 
 proceed has formerly been stated, was likewise called as a 
 witness. Cheseboi'o rode on the box with him, and kept a 
 sharp look-out behind, as though apprehensive of a rescue. 
 He declared that Morgan should not be taken from them 
 alive. He heard Davids (Miller's i)artner) remark, as they 
 
LETTER xxvri. 275 
 
 were about starting from Danolds's — " they are going to 
 " smuggle Morgan away." Justice Ciiipman, who had 
 issued the warrant, related the circumstances attending the 
 issuing thereof, and the trials which took place on its return^ 
 ending in Morgan's being taken to Canandaigua jail. All 
 the parties named in the bill, were clearly identified, as hav- 
 ing been engaged in the movements at some stage of the 
 proceedings. Dr. Lakey was at his office when the war- 
 rant was taken out, and on its return ; and Kingsley swore 
 that it was by Lakey's advice and urgency that he was in- 
 duced, against his own better judgment, to apply for the 
 warrant. He had sometimes said that Morgan had stolen 
 his shirt and cravat, and that the Masons ought to pay for 
 it ; but did not believe the taking of the articles amounted 
 to theft. The residue of the investigations related to the 
 imprisonment of Morgan, and his being taken from the jail. 
 They were long and minute ; but the testimony did not 
 vary in a single essential point from that given on the trial 
 of Cheseboro. In addition, however, to the witnesses for- 
 merly examined, there were some others, who gave a few ad- 
 ditional particulars touching the occurrences between the jail 
 and the carriage. A lady, not called before, heard the 
 whistling, saw the scuffling, and heard the cry of murder 
 three times repeated, together with a desponding groan that 
 followed. She saw nine men, of whom Coe was one, while 
 two were dragging a third along. A black boy, now first 
 examined, saw six men put Morgan into a coach, and he 
 also saw Cheseboro stuff* a handkerchief into his mouth. 
 George Ketchum, who will be recollected as the companion 
 of Mrs. Morgan from Batavia, when she came in pursuit 
 of her husband, was likewise called as a witness. He tes- 
 tified to the fact of his having known Morgan at Rochester, 
 in 1824, and of his coming with Mrs. Morgan to look for 
 her husband. While she was at the tavern, he saw Chese- 
 boro, Coc, and Evertson, and was informed by the first, 
 
2t6 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 that Morgan had been taken away the night before, by an 
 officer from Pennsylvania. This was the falsehood, as you 
 will recollect, that was told by him at first to the disconso- 
 late woman ; but nothing appears on this trial, going to 
 show that Ketchum himself might not honestly have be- 
 lieved the story at the time. Mrs. Morgan was again exa- 
 mined, but her simple narrative remained unaltered. An 
 important witness was then called upon the stand, from 
 whom the first legal testimony was elicited, of Morgan's 
 having been carried through Rochester to Hanford's Land- 
 ing. Mr. Sibley, of Canandaigua, a silversmith, was called 
 to testify to revelations that had been made to him by Sey- 
 mour, one of the parties to this indictment. The witness 
 objected at first to make the disclosure, as he was very re- 
 luctant to repeat the confidential conversations of a friend. 
 His examination Avas very long, occupying a part of two 
 days. It soon became evident, that in the regular progress 
 of his testimony, other names than that of Seymour, would 
 be divulged ; and the counsel for the defence objected to this. 
 The question was reserved for consideration, and the exa- 
 mination proceeded, the names of all persons not now on 
 trial, being omitted. On the morning of the second day, 
 however, the counsel for the people succeeded in obtaining 
 a rule for the naming of two other persons, to whom the 
 witness had alluded, as being concerned in the conspiracy 
 to suppress the book. It appeared from Mr. Sibley's testi- 
 mony, that Seymour had given him an account of all the 
 measures adopted by them to get Morgan into their power, 
 and the manner in which he had been taken away from the 
 jail. Seymour was one of those who went to Batavia after 
 Morgan. It was the second attempt to take him away. 
 About two weeks previously to the time in question, a gen- 
 tleman came from Batavia to Canandaigua, and consulted 
 with Cheseboro and others respecting the proposed publica- 
 tion, and Cheseboro declared that it must and should be 
 
LETTER XXVII. 277 
 
 suppressed. Seymour informed him, that after the man 
 [Lawson,] had succeeded in getting Morgan out of jail, he 
 was taken arm in arm, and led along a few yards, when he 
 was introduced to another person as a friend, but under a 
 feigned name. On reaching the street, Morgan resisted, 
 and witness thought he was told by Seymour that he 
 was bound and blind-folded. He was then placed in a car- 
 riage, and taken to Hanford's Landing, where he was 
 taken out, placed in another carriage, and carried along 
 the Ridge road to Lewiston; thence down to Youngs- 
 town, and confined in the powder-house of the fort — 
 " and that," he added, " was the last they had heard from 
 " him." A number of other witnesses were called, who 
 proved sundry particulars of the journey, such as the 
 procuring of a carriage at Rochester, the collection of peo- 
 ple at Wright's, &c. Piatt, the livery stable keeper of Ro- 
 chester, testified that he supposed he was furnishing the car- 
 riage for a party going to the Lewiston installation. No 
 one had ever paid him for it. Wright, at whose house, not 
 many miles from Lockport, it will be recollected there was 
 so great a collection of people, also supposed they were all 
 going to the installation. He confirmed the statement as to 
 the carriage having been driven into his barn. Eli Bruce was 
 subsequently called upon the stand, and after several objec- 
 tions to answering questions, lest he should thereby crimi- 
 nate himself, he admitted that he had seen Bur rage Smith, 
 of Rochester, on the afternoon of September 13th, but de- 
 clined saying where he had seen him. He also declined 
 answering the question, whether he was at Wright's on that 
 day, and likewise refused to say whether he was acquainted 
 with William Morgan. He admitted that he was at Lew- 
 iston on the 14th of September, and that he was at Fort 
 Niagara on the 13th and 14th or 15th. To the question 
 whether he was there on the 15th, he declined answering. 
 He answered promptly the question whether he was there 
 on the 14th, 15th, and 16th. He denied having ever seen 
 
278 LETTER XXVIT. 
 
 Loton Lawson, until within a day or two of his present ex- 
 amination, in the prison near by. The court excused him 
 from answering the question whether he had heard any con- 
 versation about Morgan on the 1 3th ; and in consideration 
 of the appeal of Bruce to the court, on the ground that the 
 transactions under discussion, were the subject of a com- 
 pkiint against him now pending before the governor, and 
 also at the suggestion of the public prosecutor, that the grand 
 jury had just then found a bill of indictment against the wit- 
 ness, he was excused from any further examination. I 
 omitted to mention one fact stated by Sibley, viz : that in his 
 conversations, Seymour expressed deep regrets at what had 
 been done, and the part he himself had acted. But another 
 witness was called, who swore that, in January, after the 
 offence was committed, Seymour declared " he would go 
 " bare-footed and bare-legged to New-Orleans," through 
 jeopardy, to do the same thing over again. A Mr. Perry, 
 who was watching with a sick person, on the back street in 
 Lewiston, where the party changed carriages, saw a man 
 taken out of the first coach, and put into the one that drove 
 into the street after it. He appeared to be helpless, as 
 though intoxicated, and his head was bound up. Noah 
 Beach and Parkhurst Whitney, testified, that a large party 
 went down from Lewiston to the fort, on the night of the 
 14th ; but they did not search the fort, and neither of these 
 witnesses saw William Morgan. 
 
 Several witnesses were called for the defence, the prin- 
 cipal of whom was Nicholas G. Cheseboro. His examination 
 was very long, but the substance of it, as taken down by the 
 prosecuting attorney himself, was, that there was no under- 
 standing between him and the defendants, " of any thing 
 " to be done to Morgan, other than the bringing him from 
 ^' Batavia to Canandaigua, and trying him." " The idea of 
 " Morgan's going west, originated in Canandaigua, after 
 *' the discharge from the warrant ; and Cheseboro did not 
 " understand 4hat Morgan was to leave the jail, until near 
 
LETTER XXVII. 279 
 
 " night on the 12th." He also swore that his motives in 
 prosecuting Morgan, were to convict him of steahng, and 
 thus to suppress the pubUcation of his book. They were 
 apprehensive that Miller would come from Batavia, pay the 
 debt, and release him, and a communication was there- 
 fore sent to Morgan's friends at Rochester, informing them 
 that he was in jail for debt. Towards evening, on the 12th 
 September, several persons communicated to him the pur- 
 pose of removing Morgan ; they were the same persons 
 who had been informed of Morgan's imprisonment, by the 
 communication sent to Rochester, — and he, (Cheseboro,) 
 asserted, that he had hired the carriage in which Morgan 
 was carried off, and paid for it. There was no doubt of all 
 the parties to the indictment having been more or less con- 
 ,cerned in getting Morgan to Canandaigua, and into jail ; but 
 the indictment w^as for taking him out, and transporting hinl 
 to parts unknown ; and of the intention, or conspiracy, to 
 effect this object, Cheseboro solemnly declared that neither 
 of the defendants were " by words, significant signs, hints, 
 " writings, or in any other manner apprised." 
 
 The cause, having lasted four days, was submitted by 
 the counsel without argument. His honor Judge Howell, 
 gave an able and luminous charge to the jury. The proof 
 to establish both the conspiracy and the consummation, was, 
 he said, full and conclusive. That Morgan had been un- 
 lawfully kidnapped and carried off, was abundantly cer- 
 tain, and that he had been subsequently unlawfully put to 
 death, there was but too much reason to believe. All ex- 
 ertions, praiseworthy to those who had made them, and 
 honorable to the country, had thus far failed to develope the 
 nefarious transaction. Exertion and investigation, how- 
 ever, ought not, and would not, cease, until this abominable 
 crime should be exposed, and the perpetrators of it punished. 
 These defendants, continued the judge, if innocent of the 
 ofTence charged in the indictment, must not suffer for the 
 
280 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 foul and black deeds of others. Courts are established to 
 protect the innocent, and punish the guilty ; and it is better 
 that ninety and nine guilty men should escape, than that an 
 innocent person should suffer. After briefly stating the ev- 
 idence, and explaining the law, he gave his opinion, that the 
 testimony, though abundant to prove abstractly, all that was 
 alledged, did not bring the charge home to the defendants. 
 The time of the court, he remarked, had, notwithstanding, 
 been profitably spent in eliciting testimony which must ul- 
 timately unravel this horrible mystery. 
 
 The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of 
 Not Guilty. Eli Bruce, David Hague, Orsamus Turner, 
 and Jared Darrow, of Lockport, were at the same time in- 
 dicted for a conspiracy to kidnap William Morgan. Orsa- 
 mus Turner being at Canandaigua, was arrested, and dis- 
 charged on a recognizance to appear at the next term of 
 the court, and answer the indictment. His own recogniz- 
 ance was in the sum of one thousand dollars, and two sure- 
 ties of five hundred dollars each. Paul Mosher, Corydon 
 Fox, Edward Giddings, and Ebenezer Perry, were at the 
 same time recognized to appear as witnesses at the same 
 term. 
 
 In the course of the investigations before the grand jury 
 at this court, it was ascertained that Col. King was at can- 
 tonment Towson, at one of the farther extremities of the 
 territory of Arkansas. Smith and Whitney were also be- 
 lieved to be residing somewhere in the valley of the lower 
 Mississippi, and the idea was suggested of sending a spe- 
 cial commission to apprehend and bring all three back as 
 fugitives from justice. The testimony produced to the 
 grand jury, would have warranted the indictment of Col. 
 King, as one of those most deeply involved in the great 
 crime. But Gen. Whiting, the District Attorney, had spe- 
 cial reasons for not wishing his indictment in that county. 
 After the lising of the court, this officer entered into a full 
 
LETTER XXVIII. 28! ' 
 
 correspondence with Gov. Clinton upon the subject of the 
 additional disclosures, furnishing him with a transcript of 
 the testimony taken before the grand jury, and suggesting 
 the expediency of deputing messengers to the far west, in 
 search of the fugitives. The Governor entered fully and 
 cordially into his views upon the subject, and the trust was 
 confided to Mr. James Garlinghouse, sheriff of Ontario, and 
 Mr. Phincas P. Bates, the late sheriff. It being understood 
 that King was in the service of the United States, at a 
 military post. Gov. C. opened a correspondence with the 
 War Department for the purpose of obtaining the necessary 
 orders, to secure the assistance of the officers at the remote 
 military posts of the west, and such other facilities as might 
 the more effectually insure the success of the mission. Gov. 
 Barbour, then at the head of the War Department, compli- 
 ed most readily with the request from Gov. Clinton, and 
 the officers departed with every reasonable encouragement 
 of success. 
 
 I am, sir, very truly, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 New- York, March 1, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The result of the preceding trial gave no satisfaction 
 to the public. The acquittal of the defendants was clearly 
 just, according to the evidence ; but the excited multitude 
 were bent on having somebody punished, and it is at no 
 time an easy task to make the great body of the people per- 
 ceive the nice distinctions of the law. There was conse- 
 quently much additional clamor, and the excitement, which 
 had not raged quite so furiously during the summer solstice, 
 
 again bade fair to blaze forth in all its primitive fervor. 
 
 86 
 
282 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 There were causes, other than the pubhc diHappointmcnt 
 at the result of the trial, moreover, that contributed to hi- 
 fuse fresh activity into the angry elements. Immediately 
 after the defendants w^ere acquitted at Canandaigua, a pub- 
 lication appeared at Rochester, purporting to give a correct 
 and true account of all that had taken place at Niagara, 
 respecting Morgan, from the moment he is lost sight of in 
 the testimony as given by Sibley, of the confessions of Sey- 
 mour. The facts detailed in that account, if true, were 
 such as to harrow up the souls of all who read them. By 
 some means or other, likewise, the substance of various hor- 
 rible disclosures, said to have been made to the grand jury 
 of Ontario, during the recent sittings of the court, found 
 their way into the newspapers ; and the public mind at 
 once became highly inflamed. Those salutary principles 
 of the law, which have been estabhshed, as well for the se- 
 curity of innocence, when unjustly accused, as to prevent 
 the escape of the guilty, were entirely lost sight of ; and po- 
 pular prejudice, refusing to listen for a moment to the dic- 
 tates of reason, could only perceive more distinctly in each 
 successive trial, the power of the strong and invisible ann 
 of Freemasonry. 
 
 There were other causes, likewise, contributing to keep 
 the feeling alive, and even to increase it. The annual elec- 
 tions of this state now rajndly approached; and the oppo- 
 nents of Freemasomy were seen on all sides, at the west, 
 arraying themselves under the new and singular banner of 
 Anti-masonry. There is probably no state in the Union, 
 where the elections are more earnestly contested than in 
 New- York, or where the parties are more thoroughly dis- 
 ciplined—particularly the party, at present, and for several 
 years past, composing the majority. But wherever the 
 Anti-masons had carried the Morgan (question to the polls 
 at the town elections early in the })rece(ling spring, with ve- 
 ry few cxceptiojis, they had Ihxm) siiccessfnl over both of 
 
LETTER xxviir. 283 
 
 the old parlies ; and by their dispositions for the coming 
 contest, (the first week in November,) it was very evident 
 they had no design of losing an inch of the ground already 
 obtained. Neither of the previously existing parties, how- 
 ever, could at first be made seriously to believe that such a 
 party as this, organized upon principles, and avowedly for 
 the attainment of objects, wholly distinct from those hereto- 
 fore connected in any manner with either our state or na- 
 tional politics, could obtain any extensive or durable foot- 
 hold in the country. But pamphlets, and handbills, and ar- 
 guments, and all the usual ammunition for the prosecution 
 of an electioneering campaign, were alike thrown away 
 upon the converts to the new party. To every appeal, 
 the reply was — " Where is Morgan ?" " Bring us back 
 Morgan." " Down with all secret societies." 
 
 Eli Bruce yet held the office of sheriff of Niagara ; and 
 the people, without heeding the causes which had hitherto 
 prevented the decision of his excellency the Governor in 
 that case, murmured loudly against that revered chief ma- 
 gistrate for the delay ; and the circumstance was used to 
 the best advantage by those who had embarked their for- 
 tunes with the disciples of the new political creed. This 
 weapon, however, was wrested from them on the 1st of 
 October, by the appearance of the Governor's proclama- 
 tion, for the removal of the offending sheriff. Fault had 
 been found, most unjustly, with the tone of the earlier pro- 
 clamations of his excellency upon the subject of the abduc- 
 tion. But with this there was, I believe, no complaint on 
 that score : it was sufficiently energetic and decisive even for 
 the most zealous Anti-mason. This proclamation set forth 
 that the delinquent officer " had been heard in his defence ;" 
 that " in the investigation of the accusation, it appeared that 
 " it was completely in the power of the accused, if innocent, 
 " to establish his innocence ;" that " in order to afford him 
 " an opportunity for that purpose, the. decision on the com- 
 
284 LETTER xxviir. 
 
 " plaint had boen suspended for an ample time, but that ho 
 " had given no explanation of his conduct." It also set forth 
 the fact, that at the recent trials at Canandaigua, when call- 
 ed upon as a witness, " he refused to testify on several 
 " material points, on the ground of self-crimination ;" from 
 all of which the Governor declared his belief, "that he was 
 " a participant in the said abduction, and had thereby ren- 
 " dered himself unworthy of the official station which he 
 " occupied," &c. ; — for which reasons his removal from the 
 said office was definitively pronounced. 
 
 But an incident of an unlocked for, and, in its consequen- 
 ces, of a most extraordinary character, followed so closely 
 upon the heels of this proclamation, that the political friends 
 of Governor Clinton, among whom I had the happiness to 
 bear a part, were not enabled to turn it to the smallest pos- 
 sible advantage. On the 7th of October, 1827, the body of 
 a stranger, who had been drowned, and washed ashore by 
 the surf, was discovered upon the beach of Lake Ontario, at 
 the entrance of Oak Orchard Creek, about forty miles from 
 Niagara, on the American territory. An event of this 
 description is by no means unusual on the coasts of naviga- 
 ble waters ; and in tlie regular discharge of the duties of the 
 living towards the dead, in such cases, a coroner was called 
 on the present occasion, and an inquest held, which resulted 
 in the body being pronounced that of some person to the 
 jury unknown, who had perished by drowning. It was 
 thereupon decently interred. It was much bloated, and in 
 a highly putrid state, when discovered. It was therefore 
 necessary to commit it to the earth with all convenient 
 speed. So far, there was nothing worthy of note in the 
 occurrence. But the scenes which followed, were of a 
 truly extraordinary character ; — presenting one of the stron- 
 gest illustrations afforded in all history, of the easy mastery 
 which an excited imagination sometimes obtains over the 
 human understanding, and also oi" the general sympathy 
 
LETTEK XXVIII. 285 
 
 which exists between difTerent minds wiien wrought upon 
 by the same causes. , " When the common feehng of dan- 
 " ger, and the animating burst of enthusiasm," says Sir 
 Waher Scott, '• act on the feehngs of many men at once, 
 " their minds hold a natural correspondence with each 
 " other, as it is said is the case with stringed instruments 
 " tuned to the same pitch, of which when one is played, the 
 " chords of the otliers are supposed to vibrate in unison with 
 " the tones produced." 
 
 The little mound had scarce been raised, and the turf 
 planted upon the stranger's grave, before it was unluckily 
 suggested by somebody, that the body might possibly have 
 been that of William Morgan ! The name was no sooner 
 pronounced, than the report spread, with electrical rapidity, 
 that the body of Morgan had actually been washed on 
 shore at Oak Orchard Creek, and that he was hastily bu- 
 ried by those who had know^n him when living. Nothing 
 could have been better calculated to awaken the sensibili- 
 ties of the people, and rekindle the embers of the excitement, 
 which, though they had never been quenched, were burning 
 with less intensity than when the fires burst forth in their 
 primitive wrath, than such a report. The utter improba- 
 bility, or, rather, the physical impossibility, that the body 
 of a drowned man could have been so far preserved in the 
 waters of Ontario, regardless alike of the hunger of the 
 fishes, the action of the waves, and the heat of a summer's 
 sun, for the long period of thirteen months, as to be identifi- 
 ed, seems never once to have occurred to the people on this 
 occasion. Or, if such a doubt was suggested, the prompt 
 reply was — " Murder will out!" and it was fiercely contend- 
 ed that heaven itself had directly interposed a miracle, that 
 the murderers might no longer escape the vengeance of the 
 offended laws. The whole country, therefore, rang with 
 the exclamation — " Morgan is found." Even here, in New 
 York, I was startled from my sleep, early in the morning, 
 
286 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 immediately on the arrival of one of the Albany steam- 
 boats, by a herald from the county of Monroe, who could 
 not repair to his hotel until he had announced to me the 
 brief message — " Morgan's body has been Ibund !" 
 
 No sooner had the reports of the discovery spread to 
 Rochester and Batavia, than the members of the respective 
 committees of investigation hastened to the county of Or- 
 leans, where the body had been driven ashore, and on Sat- 
 urday, the 13th of October, they repaired to the grave, and 
 caused it to be disinterred and examined. A variety of 
 striking resemblances were at once discovered between the 
 body, putrid, and black, and swollen as it was, and their re- 
 collections of William Morgan. Indeed so strongly were 
 these gentlemen impressed with the belief that it was none 
 other than the remains of the absentee, that they took mea- 
 sures for holding another inquest, and caused the body to 
 be carefully guarded, lest it should be stolen away by the 
 Masons, until they could make arrangements for that pur- 
 pose. Mrs. Morgan was sent for, together with various 
 witnesses from Rochester and Batavia, who had known 
 Morgan most intimately in his life-time ; and on Monday, 
 the 15th, a second inquest was held, in the midst of a largo 
 collection of people, who had spontaneously assembled ; for 
 every bosom now glowed anew with the excitement. Even 
 the conspirators themselves began to fear for the result, and 
 sent their counsel — and they had a large portion of the bar 
 constantly in pa}^ — to see that no unfair means were adopted 
 to create an impression that the body was that of Morgan, 
 without good and sufficient proof. The trial for poor Mrs. 
 Morgan was painful beyond description. Not only to have 
 all her wounds thus torn open afresh, but to be compelled 
 to examine the remains of one whom she came prei)ared 
 to believe had actually been the husband of her bosom, in 
 their present loathsome condition — awakening, as it must, 
 every painful sensation she had already sufTcrcd — must 
 
LETTER XXVIII. 287 
 
 have been a task almost beyond the enckirance of woman. 
 The examinations were protracted and minute, and several 
 witnesses were sworn, who had known Morgan intimately. 
 Among them were two physicians, of whom, a few years 
 previously, he had been a patient, at Rochester. And the 
 resemblances between the living and the dead, were most 
 striking and remarkable. Mrs. Morgan had not a particle 
 of doubt of the identity of the body — fully believing it to be 
 that of her husband. It was bald, and had a grey beard, 
 with long white hairs in the ears. It had much hair upon 
 the breast ; the leit arm had the mark of inoculation upon 
 it ; the teeth wx^re double all round : and in all these re- 
 spects, the resemblances were said to be exact. Two of 
 Morgan's teeth had been extracted : the dentist who had 
 extracted them was now present, having the teeth with 
 him ; — the body before them had also had two teeth extract- 
 ed on the same side of the face, and the teeth held by tbe 
 dentist, fitted them as exactly as though they had been drawn 
 from thence ; while tlie hair, hands, feet, nails, fingers, and 
 toes, in Mrs. Morgan's opinion, were exactly like those of 
 her husband. A surgical operation had been performed 
 upon the large toe of the left foot, which gave it a peculiar 
 conformation ; and precisely so was it with the body under 
 examination. In short, it appeared, most conclusively, and 
 beyond a doubt, from the testimony of many witnesses, phy- 
 sicians and others, that the body was that of William 
 Morgan, and none other. Only one difficulty remained, 
 and that was a mere trifle : there was not a single article of 
 the clothes found upon the deceased, — no portion of his 
 dress whatever — that had belonged to Mr. Morgan. Mrs. 
 Morgan, and various others, testified to his apparel, minute- 
 ly, and no doubt truly ; and neither shoes, stockings, shirt, 
 cravat, vest, coat nor pantaloons, corresponded with those 
 of Morgan, either in form, texture, or material.* And a 
 number of religious tracts were found iii the pockets of the 
 
288 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 deceased, not of American, but of English typography — 
 issued from the British Tract Society. These discrepan- 
 cies, however, were not of the least possible consequence. 
 The body was indisputably that of Morgan. Of this fact 
 the testimony was decisive. And as for the clothes, why 
 the Masons were not fools ; and when they killed Morgan, 
 and cast him into the angry torrent of the Niagara, they 
 took care to change his garments, and furnish the corpse with 
 some religious tracts as passports to the other world. So 
 thought, and so reasoned, the multitude ; and so decided 
 the second coroner's inquest. The body was thereupon 
 officially declared, by the inquest, to be that of the long 
 lost and now found WILLIAM MORGAN. 
 
 The next step was the funeral. The body was removed 
 with great parade to Batavia ; a prodigious sensation being 
 of course created through the country traversed by the 
 melancholy procession. It is scarcely in my power to give 
 an adequate and just account of the popular feeling at tliis 
 particular crisis. Though I should color ever so highly, the 
 picture would yet fall short of the reality. The welkin 
 rang with the direst imprecations, not only upon the actual 
 murderers of Morgan, but upon the whole body of Free- 
 masons, far and near, not a man of whom but was believed 
 to have been acquainted with the murder, and consenting 
 thereunto. The contest of the election was thickening, and 
 the funeral show was not hastened too rapidly. Meantime 
 the tidings spread, and hundreds and thousands of people 
 once more poured in upon the village of Batavia, to join in 
 the funeral obsequies of the great Masonic Martyr. A 
 funeral discourse was preached, and at the close of the 
 solemn services, the body was once more committed to its 
 kindred earth, amidst the tears of the widow, and the curses 
 of the people, deep and bitter, against the Masons. Then 
 what showers of handbills, and addresses, and appeals to 
 the passions of the people, were sent forth, in clouds, upon 
 
LETTER XXVIII. 289 
 
 the wings of every breeze. " The majesty of the people !" 
 " The triumph of justice over oppression ;" " Morgan's 
 " ghost walks unavenged among us ;" " Murder will out ;" 
 " Masons have had their day ;" " ^e that sheddeth man's 
 " blood, by man shall his blood be shed ;" " The voice of 
 " thy brother's blood cries to me from the ground !" These, 
 and such-like expressions, were now the watch- words and 
 rallying signals of a political party ; and the still small voice 
 of reason and reflection was drowned amid the univer- 
 sal din. 
 
 But the body that had been so recently, and with so much 
 pomp and circumstance of woe, reinterred, was not yet 
 suffered to lie quiet in its repose. The Masons, during the 
 whole progress of the investigations respecting the body, 
 and the subsequent enactment of the funereal scene, had 
 scouted the idea of its being that of Morgan ; and many 
 even denounced the mournful parade, as an unreal mockery 
 of woe, for political eflect. With some of the participators 
 in the proceedings, there might have been justice in the im- 
 putation. But it was not so in respect to the multitude. With 
 them, there was no affectation in the matter. They believ- 
 ed what they heard, and were inspired with feelings of holy 
 indignation at what they believed. Be that as it may, how- 
 ever, an advertisement which appeared in one of the Can- 
 ada papers, near the frontier, happened to attract the at- 
 tention of some of the persons interested in proving that 
 the disputed body was not that of Morgan, and it was the 
 means of an eclaircissement, of an astounding character to 
 all those engaged in the scenes I have just been describing. 
 From this advertisement it appeared, that in the month of 
 September, then last past — that is to say, some five or six 
 weeks before the last interment, a man by the name of Ti- 
 mothy Monroe, of the town of Clarke, in New Castle Dis- 
 trict, Upper Canada, having gone in a boat to Newark, was 
 
 drowned in the Niagara river, while on his reWn. A de- 
 
 87 
 
290 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 scription of his person, bis clothes, his cravat, and the tracts, 
 at once pointed to the body found at the mouth of Oak Or- 
 chard Creek, as that of this same Timothy Monroe ; and a 
 reward of one hundred dollars was offered for its discovery. 
 The widow of Monroe, and her son, were soon apprised of 
 the transactions detailed above. She therefore came directly 
 on, accompanied by the young man, and a friend who was 
 acquainted with her deceased husband. It was charged 
 upon the Morgan conspirators, that she had been informed 
 by them of the circumstances respecting the body, and that 
 the expenses of her journey were also paid by them. But 
 whether this charge be true or not is of no consequence, 
 since these circumstances could neither alter the truth, now 
 about to be developed, nor make one hair of the deceased 
 white or black. Mrs. Monroe came over to the county of 
 Orleans, and was first examined by three members of the 
 Lewiston committee, as to the clothes that had been found 
 upon the body of the deceased ; and here, again, there could 
 be no mistake. The clothes, every article of them, -were 
 those of her husband, — those which he had on when upset 
 from his boat in the Niagara, and the tracts had been seen 
 in his possession at Newark, on the day he was lost. In 
 regard to his apparel, there were a variety of circumstances 
 and marks, and peculiarities touching the various garments, 
 about which there could be no diversity of opinion. The 
 color ; the description of cloth ; the flannel shirt, which 
 Morgan had not ; the fashion of the garments, and even 
 the particular darnings of the stockings, were all minutely 
 described, and marks referred to which had not been de- 
 tected by the committee, that made the matter certain. Re- 
 specting the pantaloons, the son had purchased the cloth : 
 and his mother had cut and made them. The pattern be- 
 ing scant, a part of one of the legs had been eked out with 
 another piece of cloth, &c. Mrs. M. then proceeded to 
 Batavia, where the corrupting spectacle of mortality was 
 
LETTER XXVIII. 291 
 
 once more torn from the embrace of its parent earth, and a 
 third coroner's inquest held upon it. Another close examina- 
 tion succeeded, in which many of the former resemblances 
 between this body and Morgan, were not now discovera- 
 ble ; and among others, on a re-examination, it was found 
 that the teeth had not the peculiar and distinguishing char- 
 acteristic of being double all round in front, as was the case 
 with Morgan, and five had been extracted from this body, 
 whereas Morgan had lost but two. In short, without de- 
 scending into further particulars, it now appeared beyond 
 doubt or cavil, that the body was that of TIMOTHY 
 MONROE, late of Upper Canada. 
 
 This result was received with high satisfaction by the 
 western Masons, generally. Those who had been engaged in 
 the conspiracy, had their own reasons for rejoicing at the 
 discovery of the truth of this matter, proving that it was 
 not the body of Morgan ; while the still greater number of 
 the order, who were yet hoping against hope, that the out- 
 rage was not so great as had been charged, and that Mor- 
 gan might yet be brought to light and life — but who, in any 
 event, were determined not to give up Masonry on compul- 
 sion — had yet room to hope on still. But the discovery of 
 the mistake, to call it by no harsher name, came too late to 
 create a re-action in a political sense. The last coroner's 
 inquest sat on the 29th of October. The election com- 
 menced on the following Monday. And under the watch- 
 words which I have already indicated, the new party 
 achieved a victory in several of the agitated counties, of the 
 most decisive description. Serious inroads were made in 
 others ; and from that day to the present, I have seen no 
 diminution of their numbers, nor marked any abatement of 
 their energy. 
 
 As it is my purpose to embody facts rather than to in- 
 dulge in speculations, in these desultory essays, I shall not 
 stop to remark at length upon the extraordinary incidents of 
 
292 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 the preceding narrative. I question not the integrity of 
 the majority of the actors in these scenes ; and the witnesses 
 who so completely established the fact that the body of 
 Timothy Monroe was actually that of William Mor- 
 gan, are not in the least obnoxious to censure on the 
 score of veracity. But the case presents one of the strong- 
 est instances within my recollection, of the eliects of a po- 
 pular delusion upon the human mind — and it may perhaps 
 afford a suitable subject of philosophical investigation for 
 some future Dugald Stuart. 
 
 Although it came too late for political effect, yet there 
 was somewhat of a re-action, after the exposition of the 
 case of Monroe's body. A large public meeting was held 
 at Rochester, and several addresses were delivered — some 
 of them, however, by the counsellors of the conspirators ; 
 but this fact was lost sight of for the moment, in the indig- 
 nation felt at the imposture. 'A series of resolutions was 
 likewise adopted, well written, temperate, and dignified. In 
 these it was declared, as the opinion of the meeting, that 
 the committees of investigation had exceeded their instruc- 
 tions, and perverted the sacred cause in which they had 
 engaged, to political and prescriptive purposes. It was 
 declared that the eflbrts of tliose committees ought to 
 have been merely auxiliary to the ministers of justice, and 
 that in the exercise of the powers confided to them, they 
 ought to have confined themselves exclusively to such acts 
 as were necessary and proper to bring the perpetrators of 
 the outrage to legal trial and punishment. They were 
 charged with having proscribed a large and respectable 
 portion of the people without proof, censuring individuals up- 
 on mere suspicion, and with attempting to organize political 
 parties for the promotion of selfish and ambitious purposes ; 
 with breaking up families, and exciting neighbors against 
 neighbors. The meeting pledged itself to use all possible 
 exertions to discover the falc of Morgan, and to bring the 
 
Lj^TTER xxvin. 293 
 
 porpe!ra!ors of iho outrage to punishment ; and in conclu- 
 sion, they denounced the Morgan comm ittce as altogether 
 unworthy of (he public confidence. In the aspect of the 
 case, as it was then presented, thcvse resolutions appeared 
 very just and proper. But the people, who were some- 
 w^hat indignant at first, soon returned to their former state 
 of feeling ; and in the end it appeared that some of the con- 
 spirators themselves, or at least those who had even aided 
 them by money to abscond, were at the bottom of this meeting. 
 Whilst the proceedings in regard to the body of Monroe 
 were going forward, a circumstance occured at Buffalo, of 
 rather a singular description, which created considerable 
 interest for some time, and occasioned, but for the moment 
 only, a partial diversion from the fresh impulse given to the 
 excitement at Batavia. A man calling himself R. H. Hill, 
 came voluntarily forv/ard, avowed himself the principal of 
 the murderers of Morgan, and surrendered his person to 
 the civil authorities. He was thrown into prison, where he 
 wrote a confession of his participation in the bloody trans- 
 action. He declared that he had been induced to make the 
 acknowledgment from the stings of conscience, for having 
 assisted in taking the life of a man whom he had never seen 
 before. He would not, disclose the names of any of his as- 
 sociates, inasmuch as they had each bound themselves, by 
 the most solemn and fearful oaths, that, should either of 
 them ever be detected, they were to abide the penalty of 
 the law, without betraying the names of either. He de- 
 clared himself ready and willing, nay, anxious, to under- 
 go that penalty, and seemed pious and penitent. As the 
 crime was supposed to have been committed in the county 
 of Niagara, Hill was transferred to the jail in Lockport^ 
 where he was kept until the empannclling of the first grand 
 jury. He then went before that body and repeated his con- 
 fessions. Rut his tale, unsupported by any other evidence, 
 and uncorroborated by circumstances, was. discredited, and 
 
294 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 he was ultimately discharged as one having a mind diseas- 
 ed. Since his liberation, 1 have never heard a syllable of 
 or from him. 
 
 The year 1827, however, was not to pass away without 
 one further illustration of human weakness and credulity. 
 Almost from the origin of the Anti-masonic excitement, the 
 country had been infested with mountebank Anti-masonic 
 professors of Masonry, travelling about from village to vil- 
 lage, giving lectures upon the subject, and professing to pre- 
 sent the public with practical representations of the process of 
 working in lodges, and conferring the various degrees of Ma- 
 sonry. These exhibitions have, for the most part, been made 
 for lucre, after the example of strolling professors of slight- 
 of-hand dexterity, the feats of fire-eaters, sword-swallowers, 
 &;c. Among the earliest of these travelling merchants of 
 vendible nonsense, was a man named Thomas Hamilton. 
 His character will appear presently. Although a very ig- 
 norant man, he was, in truth and in fact, one of the boldest, 
 most impudent, and, for a time, most successful of im- 
 postors. He had the art, for several weeks, of imposing 
 himself upon a portion of the religious community, and 
 succeeded tolerably well. Having, however, been a Free- 
 mason, and seeing how well the illustrations of Masonry 
 by Morgan, had taken with the western public, he resolved 
 to turn the same thing to his own private account. He ac- 
 cordingly commenced delivering lectures against the craft, 
 and preaching Anti-masonry. Crowds of people thronged 
 his exhibitions ; and many were the towns he visited where 
 the excitement had not yet broken out, but which he speedi- 
 ly wrought up almost into a state of delirium upon the sub- 
 ject. Not content, however, with this harvest of populari- 
 ty, he must needs play the hero, and become all but a second 
 jifiartyr to the cause he had espoused. He was an intem- 
 perate man, and having, on one occasion, while engaged in 
 the work of imparting intellectual light to the good people 
 
LETTER XXVIII. 295 
 
 of Avon, imposed too heavy a quantity of alcohol upon hia 
 stomach, became sick, and a portion of what he had sv^'al- 
 lovi^ed was ejected. The landlord was a Mason ; of which 
 fact he availed himself, in connexion with the circumstance 
 of the undesigned emetic he had taken, to prefer a charge 
 against his host, of an attempted assassination of his pre- 
 cious self. A full account of the suspicious circumstances' 
 was written, certified to by five respectable citizens of Avon, 
 and published in the new^spapers under his own hand. The 
 poor landlord was astounded ; but there was no resisting 
 the popular prejudice against his caste, and he was obliged 
 to submit to the imputation. He did not submit quietly, 
 how^ever, but instituted an action of slander against one 
 person who had helped to circulate the atrocious calumny.* 
 Hamilton, meantime, fled from that part of the country, and 
 proceeding westward to Buffalo, succeeded in producing a 
 great excitement there. His lectures were crowded, as 
 they had been in other places, and he occasionally embellish- 
 ed his exercises with recitals of his own personal persecu- 
 tions from the Masons, and their blood-thirsty attempts up- 
 on his Hfe. Finally, the day after he had uttered one of his 
 bitterest philippics against the craft, he was missing. No 
 traces of him could be discovered ; and many were the 
 dark surmises respecting his fate that were breathed forth 
 in mysterious whispers. On the following day, nothing 
 could be heard of Mr. Hamilton. But on the next, there 
 was a discovery. News was received that a man had 
 been found drowned in the Tonawanta Creek, but a few 
 miles from Buffalo, and the conviction flashed at once 
 upon the minds of the good people, that it must be tho 
 corpse of the ill-fated Hamilton. His life had once before 
 been attempted ; and now, alas I he had doubtless been 
 called to pay the penalty of his masonic obligation. The 
 
 ♦ The landloid recovered a handsome verdict of damagcSj the jury, by 
 consent, he'iuir composed entirely of Anti-masons. 
 
296 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 body had been interred ; but no matter : a party imme- 
 diately proceeded from Buffalo, with witnesses, and all the 
 necessary implements for opening the grave. They arriv- 
 ed at the spot, and the body was speedily raised once more 
 above the earth. Happily, however, there was no excuse 
 for pronouncing it to be that of Hamilton ; and the compa- 
 ny returned ; somewhat disappointed, it is true, in the pre- 
 sent result, but still believing that the man for whom they 
 were seeking had been mysteriously made away with. But 
 on reaching the village, their anxieties were speedily re- 
 moved by the martyr himself. He had just crawled forth 
 from a tippling stew, in the outskirts of the village, where 
 he had been lying for several days in a state of beastly in- 
 toxication. It was time now for the fellow to change his 
 theatre of action. He accordingly fled eastward! y to the 
 county of Ontario, — pursued his lecturing for a short period, 
 — was taken into the domicil, and the confidence, of a kind- 
 hearted Anti-mason-^abused his hospitality, — and, in the 
 end, attempted an outrage upon his daughter, a girl of ten- 
 der age, for which he was sentenced to the state-prison for 
 seven years. 
 
 You may suppose, sir, that this last is an exaggerated 
 representation of the extent to which the credulity of the 
 people was abused during the great excitement. But it is 
 not so. The case of Hamilton affords but one instance, 
 although perhaps the most flagrant. I have recorded it, 
 however, in the words of truth and soberness. 
 
 On or about the 1st of November, 1827, Gov. Clinton 
 received a communication from Gov. Cass, of Michigan, in- 
 closing an aflidavit of an extraordinary character. It was 
 the deposition of Erastus Ingersoll, corroborated by the 
 statement of Amos Mead, both of whom Gov. Cass certifies 
 to be " citizens of character and standing, incapable of 
 " stating any thing but what they believe to be true," giving 
 the substance of a confession made to them in August, of 
 
LETTER XXIX. 2^7 
 
 that year, of a man named Edward Hopkins. This man 
 was at the time a resident of the county of St. Clair, in that 
 territory, lately from Upper Canada, and a native of Berk- 
 shire, in the state of Massachusetts. Hopkins declared that 
 " he knew the circumstances connected with the death of 
 " Morgan ; that he, with others, had Morgan in charge se- 
 ** veral days, at Niagara, and was present at, or below, a 
 *' place called Schlosser, on the Niagara river, where a num- 
 " ber of persons were assembled with Morgan, and held a 
 " consultation on the manner in which he should be dispo- 
 *' sed of, and that it was finally determined to send him 
 " adrift in a canoe down the falls. He was accordingly 
 " put into the canoe, and pushed into the rapids of the Nia- 
 " gara, where he perished. Hopkins further stated that he 
 *' made great efforts to save the life of Morgan, and offered 
 " to become responsible for him, if his companions would 
 " deliver him over to his care, — but they refused to do so. 
 " By whose hands the canoe was pushed off, Hopkins could 
 " not tell, because he turned his back upon the perpetrators 
 ** of the deed." Mr. Ingersoll further deposed, that Hopkins 
 was of a good family, of a respectable character, and a man 
 of truth and veracity. It proved in the end, that this story 
 could not have been true ; and I have introduced it in this 
 place, only as affording another instance of the distracting 
 uncertainty which at all times hung over this fearful subject, 
 and the difficulties by which the prosecutions were at every 
 step environed. Very respectfully, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 New- York, March 3, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 In the person of De Witt Clinton, the state of New- 
 York lost one of its brightest ornaments, and our country 
 
 38 
 
298 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 a benefactor of noble mould. He died at Albany, on the? 
 evening of February 11th, 1828, very suddenly, — having 
 discharged his official duties on that day, and written seve- 
 ral letters in the course of the atternoon. He was sitting 
 in his office, or private cabinet, at the time of his decease, 
 and had but a few moments previously been engaged in fa- 
 miliar conversation with his son. But, sndden as was the 
 stroke of death, it was not unexpected, either by the illus- 
 trious man himself, or by his particular friends. It had 
 been evident for a number of months, that a disease had 
 seized upon his constitution, which, without impairing his 
 faculties, threatened an early and sudden termination of his 
 proud and brilliant career. Indeed he had been premonish- 
 ed of his situation, but a short time before his decease, by a 
 medical gentleman, standing deservedly high in his confi- 
 dence, who was his intimate friend in fife, and who has test- 
 ed the sincerity of his friendship, by an eloquent and well 
 earned tribute to his memory since dead.* When the friend- 
 ly monition was made to him, with all possible delicacy, 
 and not without emotion. Governor Clhiton received the 
 solemn intimation in a manner characteristic of the man. 
 He paused for a moment, as if indulging in deep refiection ; 
 then raising his head, with the most perfect firmness and 
 composure, he replied : " I am not afraid to die !'' 
 
 An eulogy upon the character of this distinguished man, 
 whose memory is yet green in the affections of the people, 
 and whose fame will long be cherished as a rich portion of 
 the national inheritance, would be alike unnecessary, and 
 foreign from the purpose of this narrative. Unfortunately, 
 however, in the present era of our political history, the gall 
 and wormwood of party, have been infused not only into 
 public, but into individual feeling. Neither exalted talents, 
 nor pqrity of character in a public man,— nur his exten&ive 
 
 ^ Dr. David Unpack. 
 
LETTER XXIX. 299 
 
 and indefatigable beneficence, and splendid services, — can 
 protect him from the scorpion sting of slander, while living, 
 if a noisy partizaii thinks lie can further his sordid views by 
 the calumny. And even when he is dead, — when the pos- 
 thumous reward of greatness is bestowed, in the general 
 exhibition of those better feelings, which had been controlled 
 before by rivalry or self-interest, some hypocritical tears 
 will be shed over his remains, and sacrilegious defamation 
 will not only dare to attempt by violence an exposure of the 
 secrets of the grave ; but to deface his epitaph, and to stain 
 his spotless escutcheon. So it was with De Witt Clinton. 
 The Anti-masonic party, as we have seen, had already been 
 organized for political purposes ; and it had made a first 
 and second demonstration with so much encouragement of 
 ultimate success, that those who had mounted upon the 
 whirlwind of the excitement, were determined to protract 
 it, that they might the longer soar upon the tempest. This 
 object could be accomplished in no other way, so effectually, 
 as by continuing to insist upon the positive guilt of the whole 
 masonic institution, in the matter of Morgan, through all its 
 extensive and distant ramifications, and likewise to impli- 
 cate its chief officers, and most distinguished men. De 
 Witt Clinton was High Priest of the General Grand Chap- 
 ter of the United States, at the time of his death. He was 
 for the third time re-elected to that office in September, 
 1826, Gen. Jackson having been proposed as a candidate 
 in opposition. His station, masonically, was the highest in 
 the Union ; and whether viewed as a Freemason, or as a 
 statesman, he was the most shining and elevated mark to 
 be aimed at. If effective, the blow would indeed be sig- 
 nal ; because, if De Witt Clinton could be identified with 
 the project for the murder of Morgan, — if the spells of 
 Masonry could bind such a man to so damning a deed, how 
 much less potency would be necessary to bring the common 
 men of the order into plans of the deepest guilt ? 
 
300 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 It is but too true, as wc have already seen, tliat the name 
 of Governor Clinton had been early used at the west, in 
 connexion vs^ith the Morgan outrage. Nor w^ere the Anti- 
 masons the first, or the most to blame, for thus using it. If, 
 sir, you have done me the honor to read the preceding letters 
 in detail, you will have seen that the idea was generally 
 impressed upon the minds of those in the secret of Morgan's 
 fate, on both sides of the national boundary, that the con- 
 spirators were acting under orders from a high masonic 
 power. Sometimes the directions for suppressing the book, 
 were said to have proceeded from the Grand Lodge ; and 
 at others, the belief was entertained that they came from a 
 yet higher body — the Grand Chapter. To neither of these, 
 however, did De Witt Clinton then belong, but to the still 
 higher body of the General Grand Chapter of the United 
 States ; — and we shall see presently how even that body, 
 though innocent, was near being compromised in this la- 
 mentable affair. In connexion with all these bodies, the 
 name of Clinton was used, because it was identified with the 
 institution ; and in general conversation there was little dis- 
 crimination between its separate branches. But it was not 
 in this incidental manner alone, that the name of Governor 
 Clinton became associated with these transactions. There 
 is no doubt, that the authors of the conspiracy and the abduc- 
 tion, were themselves guilUj of the additional crime of an 
 attempt, in the public opinion, to inculpate him in their own 
 guilt. Indeed, it is believed, that the leaders of the conspi- 
 racy were enabled by the power of his name alone, to push 
 the subordinates in their plot, into its full and fatal execu- 
 tion. For this purpose it was not only declared that they 
 had orders from Gov. Clinton to suppress the publication of 
 the book, but some of the co-workers in the iniquitous affair, 
 actually exhibited a letter, purporting to have been writ- 
 ten by the Governor, commanding the suppression of the 
 BOOK at all hazards. Major Ganson is believed to have 
 
LETTER XXIX. 301 
 
 been concerned in this imposture, although he has certified to 
 the contrary, as will presently appear. He had repeatedly 
 been in the legislature, and was a political friend of Gov. 
 C. There is, therefore, reason to believe, that such repre- 
 sentations, coming from him, sustained by the exhibition in 
 some places, of a letter, which must have been forged, had 
 a powerful mfluence upon the minds of the weaker mem- 
 bers of the order ; and it is possible, that, could a voice come 
 from the grave, it would appear that there was one, who, by 
 that deception, was persuaded to take the deepest plunge 
 into the sea of guilt. Be that, nevertheless, as it may, a 
 fouler calumny was never invented, even by the father of 
 lies himself. 
 
 It is true that Gov. Clinton was early reproached by the 
 Anti-masonic papers, for an imputed want of activity and 
 energy in pushing forward the investigations. But these 
 reproaches, and other kindred calumnies, were to be expect- 
 ed from zealous and unscrupulous partizans, in the midst 
 of heated election contests. We should be too happy in 
 our political relations, perhaps, if the blessings of our free 
 institutions were in all respects unalloyed. The strife and 
 bitterness of our elections, therefore, and the slanders and 
 obloquy which candidates for public office, are compelled to 
 encounter, may be regarded as the natural consequences of 
 the hberty which allows them. Nor, in the aggregate, can 
 their endurance be counted a very heavy tax, for the enjoy- 
 ment of such perfect freedom, as that which is guaranteed 
 to American citizens. Long in political life, and always 
 fated to encounter a fierce, and, at times, a remorseless and 
 vindictive opposition, Gov. Clinton cared for these political 
 attacks far less than most men. Conscious, therefore, of his 
 own rectitude in this matter, the murmurings to which I am 
 now referring were suffered to pass by without notice or 
 regard. But when, in the autumn of 1827, he was specifi- 
 cally informed of the higher calumnies in circulation re- 
 
302 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 spocting him, at the west, and of the liberty taken with his 
 nanne by the conspirators, h.e lost no time, as you will per- 
 ceive before the close of the present communication, in 
 adopting such measures as seemed most judicious for arrest- 
 ing the progress of the atrocious slander. 
 
 It was, I believe, during the last visit of that eminent man 
 to the city of New- York, that, unsolicited, he placed in my 
 hands, with a request that they might be carefully perused, 
 a bundle of papers, comprising a lai'ge portion of his cor- 
 respondence, and other public documents, upon this subject. 
 Of these papers, which have been politely re-loaned to me 
 by his son Charles Clinton, Esq., I have already made 
 considerable use, in the course of the preceding narrative. 
 And upon these papers alone, so far as I have already 
 quoted them, I think I might confidently appeal to you, 
 sir, and to the whole community, whether they do not 
 amply redeem the character of Governor Clinton from 
 all insinuations, imputing a want of energy, promptitude, 
 and diligence, in the use of all measures judged by him to 
 be necessary and proper, in order to expose to light the 
 whole of those dark transactions, and bring the offenders, 
 whoever they w^ere, or however many of them there might 
 be, to the tribunals of the law for punishment. 
 
 The earliest complaint which I recollect to have heard 
 from the Morgan committees, against the conduct of Gov. 
 Clinton, was in reference to his first and second proclama- 
 tions. In the first, no specific reward was offered for the 
 apprehension and punishment of the delinquents : — in the 
 second, it was contended that the reward promised w\is not 
 sufficiently large ; — and I think the same objection was 
 likewise urged against the last — with how much reason will 
 be seen. In regard to the first, it must be borne in mind 
 that the outrage was then supposed to have been confined 
 to a very few persons at Batavia and Canandaigua. Little 
 was known at the time of the extent of the conspiracy ; or 
 
LETTER XXIX. 803 
 
 of its enormity ; and still less of the difficulty subsequently 
 encountered in the numerous and wearisome endeavors 
 that have been made to discover and punish the guilty. 
 When the first complaint was made to the Governor, he 
 lost not a day in issuing his proclamation. His letter to the 
 committee, accompanying that proclamation, has already 
 been presented to your consideration, and need not be re- 
 peated here. In that letter he pledged himself, " that no- 
 " thing should be wanting on his part due to the occasion and 
 " the emergency. ^^ And I fearlessly appeal to the candor of 
 any man of good sense, to pronounce, whether, under the 
 then circumstances of the case, that first proclamation was 
 not of a sufficiently decisive and energetic character for 
 that " emergency ;" and also, whether the explanation with 
 which the proclamation was accompanied, ought not to 
 have been satisfactory. Was it reasonable to expect from 
 the chief magistrate, acting coolly and dispassionately, as it 
 was his province and his duty to act, a more marked and 
 severe condemnation of the outrage, than is expressed in 
 the letter referred to ? Subsequently, when the transaction 
 began to assume a more serious aspect, a second procla- 
 mation was issued, without solicitation, offering various 
 specific rewards. vSome months subsequently still, after the 
 disclosures respecting Howard, and the partial discoveries 
 made by the Lewiston convention had reached the Gover- 
 nor's ears, a third proclamation was issued, oflfering as high 
 a reward as the law would allow him to propose, even to 
 the full amount of the contingent funds in his hands. Nor 
 is this all : when the Governor became apprised that Bruce 
 was implicated in the transaction, he himself proposed that 
 a formal complaint should be preferred against the delin- 
 quent officer, that his conduct might be officially investiga- 
 ted. The complaint was made ; and, although a grand ju- 
 ry of Niagara, had, in a body, informed the Governor that 
 there was no evidence of Moi-gan's having been within 
 
304 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Br uce's Jurisdiction, yet he was removed from office in due 
 season, as I have already shown. In my view, sir, leaving 
 entirely out of the question the exalted character of Gov. 
 C, and the elevated standard of morals by which he was 
 governed, these circumstances look very unlike any partici- 
 pation in, or cognizance of, the conspiracy, directly or in- 
 directly, either by signal, word, or deed. If Gov. Clinton 
 had, in any form or manner, been previously apprised of 
 the conspiracy, or had he in any manner favored it, it can 
 hardly be supposed that those who had executed his purpo- 
 ses, would have tamely submitted to the loss of character, 
 honor, offices, and their personal freedom, without exposing 
 him. If they held his written letters, they would have been 
 exhibited. If any person had received his approbation of 
 the plot, or his commands for its execution, viva voce, the 
 fact would have been proclaimed, and the name of Clinton, 
 " doubly dying," would justly have gone down 
 
 To the vile dust from whence it sprung, 
 Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. 
 
 And yet, in the face of all these facts, in disregard of all 
 these circumstances, the remains of this eminent patriot had 
 scarce become cold in their grave, before the vile calumny, 
 which, during his lifetime had already been apparently ex- 
 tinguished, was revived in the broadest and most cruel man- 
 ner. The death of Clinton had thrown our state into mourn- 
 ing, and created a sensation throughout the whole country, 
 equalled only, in recent times, by the simultaneous departures 
 to anoth^- world, on the 4th of July, 1826, of your illustri- 
 ous father, and liis distinguished colleague in the revolution. 
 But the funeral ceremonies had scarce been concluded, and 
 the first shock of the blow given place to the more temper- 
 ed, though equally unequivocal evidences of deep and heart- 
 felt grief, before the interested and envious harpies of de- 
 
LETTER XXIX. 305 
 
 traction were at work. Wretches who would have cow- 
 ered in his presence, like the spaniel before the lion, or 
 shrunk like the fig-tree withered before the lightning-glance 
 of his eye, were now engaged in poisoning the public ear, 
 like the arch fiend in reptile form, " squat" at the ear of the 
 mother of men. Not content with the repetition of the 
 stale falsehoods in whispers, a portion of the public press 
 was found base enough to lend its assistance in the ignoble 
 project of " staining with infamy a spotless name." As- 
 suming daily a bolder and yet a bolder tone, one short 
 month had not elapsed, before it was blasphemously-heralded 
 forth, that the deceased had been struck dead by the aveng- 
 ing arm of the Almighty, for his guilty participation in the 
 murder of Morgan, — to which, as the climax of audacity, 
 it was soon added, that, stung with remorse at the deed 
 which he had sanctioned, he had ended his life by his own 
 hand ! It might well be supposed that such gross and mon- 
 strous fictions would have been too much for the popular 
 credulity, and that the most envenomed shafts of calumny, 
 directed at such an object, would fall harmless to the earth. 
 But " excited passion is a whirlwind that extinguishes the 
 *' taper of reason, — a rushing flood that renders turbid the 
 " pure stream of the judgement, so that truth cannot be 
 " clearly discerned." And I am sorry to be obliged to add 
 my conviction, that, so far from making no impression, or 
 leaving even a transient one, the calumny is still at the 
 present day widely circulated, and by many religiously be- 
 lieved. You, sir, have yourself informed me, although you 
 lent no ear to the talc, that within a few months past, two 
 gentlemen in Massachusetts, .of intelligence and respecta- 
 bility, had repeated the story of Gov. Clinton's guilt in this 
 matter, both of whom seriously affirmed the existence of 
 two letters from his own hand, proving the fact. And I have 
 now before me a printed address, under the signature of N. 
 B, Boileau, Esq., an old and distinguished politician of Penri- 
 
 .39 
 
306 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 sylvania, in which the tale is repeated, without scruple or 
 qualification, and with an improvement which has in no 
 other place fallen under my observation. The charge of 
 Mr. Boileau, that Gov. Clinton was an accessary before the 
 fact, to the abduction and murder of Morgan, is explicit. 
 Nor is Gov. Clinton alone traduced by that gentleman. Not 
 content with this atrocious libel of the dead, the zealous ca- 
 lumniator endeavors also to inculpate the governors of two 
 other states in the same transaction ! 
 
 Had it not been for the publication of Mr. Boileau, to 
 which I refer, and the statement of the two gentlemen of 
 Massachusetts made to yourself last autumn, I should pro- 
 bably have omitted the present chapter in this history. But 
 De Witt Clinton is dead, and cannot answer. His fame, 
 however, belongs to his country, and it is a high and solemn 
 duty incumbent upon those who were his cotemporarics, to 
 preserve that fame in its splendor, and his good name in its 
 purity. However great a politician may be, his memory, 
 merely as such, will scarcely survive his death for a single 
 generation, unless he shall have identified his name with 
 some great deed in arms, or work of art ; by some success- 
 ful effort in the moral improvement of our species, or some 
 project of national magnitude and utility, which will stand 
 as an enduring monument of the talents and enterprise of 
 the age in which it was produced. It is in this way that 
 the name of Clinton belongs to posterity. His popularity 
 will be immortal, because the influence of his talents, and 
 the eflects of his labors, will endure while our nation has an 
 existence. It is from considerations like these, having the 
 means in my possession, that I have thought it a part of my 
 duty, on the present occasion, to step forward, and by at 
 once silencing the calumny, put to shame tlie traducers of 
 this eminent and excellent man. 
 
 Mr. Boileau, in liis address to the people of Pennsylva- 
 nia last autumn, promulgated the calumny of which I have 
 
LETTER XXIX. 307 
 
 been speaking, in the following language : — " A seceding 
 " Mason from New- York, of high character and intelli- 
 " gence, informed me that when it was first rumored that 
 " Morgan was about to reveal the secrets of Masonry, a 
 " council was held in New- York, by the highest order of 
 " Masons, to consult on what means should be adopted to 
 " suppress the publication ; at which council, the Governor 
 " of New-York, and the Governors of two other states as- 
 ** sisted in the deliberations, and at that council decided that 
 " the publication should be suppressed at all hazards, and 
 ** Morgan put out op the way. These facts are corro- 
 " borated by the strongest circumstances, furnished by the 
 ^^ judicial proceedings which have taken place, as well as 
 " other circumstances. Fellow-citizens, pause for a mo- 
 " ment, and view this appalling fact. Three chief execu- 
 " tive magistrates, of three different states, all sworn to see 
 ^' the laws faithfully executed. Yet under the paramount 
 " obligations of their masonic oaths, they deliberately join in 
 " council to sanction the commission of a most atrocious 
 " crime. We say the crime of MURDER is justly charg- 
 " ed to the masonic institution, and all those who still ad- 
 " here to that institution are totally unworthy of confidence. 
 " The actual perpetrators of the crime deserve death," ifec. 
 The charge against Gov. Clinton could scarcely be more 
 positive than in the form in which it is here presented. The 
 author of the calumny, in its present shape, and all his rea- 
 ders, well knew that De Witt Clinton was Governor of 
 New- York, at the period referred to. Nor can Mr. Boi- 
 leau escape the odium of the slander, upon the plea that he 
 has only repeated a story which had been communicated to 
 him by others. Repetition is not all. He goes farther, and 
 indorses the statement himself, by the declaration that the 
 relation thus given, has been " corroborated by the judicial 
 " proceedings that have taken place, as well as by other cir- 
 '' cumstances.^^ In bringing forward such an accusation, and 
 
308 LETT^ XXIX. 
 
 attempting thus to sustain it, Mr. Boileau has assumed a 
 fearful responsibility. The repetition of a falsehood told 
 by another, is bad enough ; but language wants terms to 
 stamp with adequate detestation, the man, who, to calum- 
 niate the virtuous dead, will deliberately coin a falsehood 
 of his own, to sustain that which has been related to him. 
 Had Mr. Boileau confined himself to the repetition of the 
 falsehood, I might have suffered it to pass unchastised. 
 But how dared he assert, in the face of the world, that the 
 slander which he was then posting on the winds of heaven, 
 had been corroborated by the legal proceedings of the 
 courts of New- York in the premises ? He had no right Jo 
 hazard such an assertion, even though that, also, had been 
 told him — which he does not pretend was the case. The 
 legal proceedings of our courts are matters of record ; and 
 the testimony elicited in the various Morgan trials, has been 
 amply reported, and has become matter of history. It 
 woi;dd have become Mr. B., therefore, before venturing 
 upon such a sweeping assertion, involving character to such 
 an extent, so important alike to the feelings of the living, 
 and the memory of the dead, to have looked into the facts 
 of the charge himself. Had he done so, he would have 
 found, that there is not a particle of truth, written or un- 
 written, in the statement upon which, with such singular 
 • hardihood of assertion, he has presumed to venture. 
 
 I will not content myself, however, with a mere empty 
 denial of this accusation, resting on my own word. Its 
 principal feature is not new with Mr. Boileau, as we have 
 seen, although it has been greatly amplified in his hands. 
 % The idea of this grand council in New- York, had its origin 
 at an early period in the history of Anti-masonry ; and it 
 would have been no easy matter for Proteus himself to have 
 worked more transformations, than the story built upon it 
 lias undergone. Strange as it may seem, moreover, while 
 every version that I have met with has been essentially 
 
LETTER XXIX. 309 
 
 false, there was, in the outset, an iiiciclent of actual occur- 
 rence, which originally imparted to it a semblance of truth ; 
 so that, like other historical romances of the day, composed 
 entirely of fiction, it was nevertheless in its origin, appa- 
 rently founded in fact. It has long been my purpose to en- 
 lighten the public in regard to the particular feature of this 
 history to which I have just referred ; and I rejoice in the 
 present opportunity, inasmuch as I confidently believe it to 
 be within my power for ever to put the calumny at rest. 
 
 You may recollect, sir, the statement in a former letter, 
 that among the devices for obtaining possession of Mor- 
 gan's manuscripts, a portion of them were abstracted from 
 Miller's office, by his pretended partner, Johns, which pa- 
 pers were sent to New- York, by an express, to be laid be- 
 fore the General Grand Chapter of the United States, as- 
 sembled in this city in September, 1826. Johns took these 
 papers, I believe, on the 9th of September ; and the mes- 
 senger who brought them, resided at that time in Roches- 
 ter, although he was then, and is yet, connected with a 
 press in a more important location. The General Grand 
 Chapter commenced its sittings on the 14th of September. 
 
 The messenger arrived, and presented the papers with 
 the delivery of which he had been charged, on the second 
 day of the session, viz: on the 15th. The gentleman ap- 
 peared greatly agitated, and seemed to think himself charg- 
 ed with a mission of high importance. Governor Clinton 
 presided during that session, but was not present in the 
 chapter when this message arrived — Mr. Snow, of Ohio, 
 being in the chair of the G. G. High Priest for the time be- 
 ing. The papers were presented, and referred to a select 
 committee, of which my • friend Col. Knapp, then of Bos^ 
 ton, was chairman. This committee retired immediately, 
 and after some conversation with the messenger, became 
 satisfied, that in a moment of excitement at the west, of 
 which, however, they had received no previous intimation, 
 
310 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 the papers had been improperly obtained. The committee, 
 therefore, without opening the papers, determined to report 
 immediately against receiving them, in order that they 
 might be sent back without delay, and delivered to the 
 owner. On returning into the chapter, they reported that 
 the papers which had been committed to them, appeared to 
 be private property, — papers with which the General Grand 
 Chapter had nothing to do, — and they recommended that 
 the messenger be instructed to return, forthwith, and deliv- 
 er them back to the owner. The report was concurred 
 in by the chapter, without a dissenting voice. Governor 
 Clinton came into the chapter afterwards, during the same 
 sitting, and having heard some intimation of what had ta- 
 ken place, made the inquiries naturally arising from such 
 an occurrence. The facts were explained to him, and he 
 declared emphatically his hearty approbation of the course 
 that had been adopted.* 
 
 Such, sir, in the briefest possible terms, is the history of 
 the real occurrence, which designing men have sought to 
 use ever since, as proof that the General Grand Chapter, 
 with Governor Clinton at its head, was accessary before 
 the fact, to the murder of Morgan. The circumstance that 
 
 ♦ Since this letter was written, I have received a pamphlet of nearly 200 
 pages, containing the report of a committee of the Legislature of Rhode 
 island, appointed to. investigate the charges against Freemasonry. Among 
 the witnesses examined, was Moses Richardson, who, in the course of a 
 long and very strange deposition, makes the following statement : — " I was 
 *' a member of the General Grand Chapter, which was in session in the city 
 " of New- York in September, 1826, when the news was received, that Wil- 
 " liam Morgan had been abducted ; and the lamented De Witt Chnton, who 
 " presided at the meeting, immediately issued his proclamation, and offered 
 " fifteen hundred dollars reward for the apprehension of the culprits, and it 
 " was published in the newspaper the next day, which was thought sufH- 
 " cient." Mr. Richardson has here fallen into a number of ver}' serious mis- 
 takes, as will presently be seen by other testimony than my own. 1st. The 
 news of Morgan's abduction was not then received. 2d. Gov. Clinton M'aa 
 not officially advised of the abduction until the Gth of October — three weeks 
 afterwards. His proclamation was issued on the 7th of October, and was 
 first pubhshed about the 17th, at the west. Of course, it did not appear "in 
 " the newspaper the next morning." It did not offer 1500 dollars, nor any 
 other specific reward. The rewards were offered in subsequent proclama- 
 tions. 
 
LETTER XXIX. 311 
 
 a portion of the manuscripts were thus sent to New- York, 
 was known immediately afterwards, and it was that fact, 
 and that alone, from which the implication of Gov. Clinton, 
 and the distinguished masonic gentlemen then assembled in 
 New- York, from different parts of the United States, in the 
 guilty transaction, has been inferred. A surmise was suffi- 
 cient, in the first instance, to set a rumor afloat. The broad 
 assertion of the fact soon followed. And it was thus that 
 a transaction, not only innocent in itself, but in the highest 
 degree honorable to the General Grand Chapter, to the com- 
 mittee to whom the papers were referred, and to Governor 
 Clinton himself, has been misrepresented and distorted, un- 
 til it has at length swollen into the atrocious accusations 
 which we have seen. But the misrepresentation did not 
 end with the story that the General Grand Chapter had ex- 
 amined the papers, and directed " their suppression at all 
 " hazards." In order to add to the plausibility, nay, to the 
 possibility of its truth, it became necessary to falsify dates, 
 and change the actual time of the meeting of the General 
 Grand Chapter. Morgan, it will be recollected, was taken 
 from Batavia, on the morning of September 1 1th. He was 
 thrown into prison in Canandaigua, on the night of that 
 day. And on the night of the 12th, two days before the 
 meeting of the General Grand Chapter, and three days pre- 
 viously to the arrival of the papers in New- York, he was 
 kidnapped from the jail, and stolen away to the west. It 
 was therefore an utter impossibility, that the General Grand 
 Chapter, or Gov. Clinton, could have been consulted in the 
 matter. This difficulty, however, was soon overcome by 
 the exercise of a little ingenuity, and still less of honesty. ^, 
 Knowing that the great body of the people would not speedi- 
 ly, if ever, be undeceived, the period of the meeting of the 
 General Grand Chapter was altered in the Anti-masonic 
 papers, and carried back into August ! This miserable 
 fraud gave the necessary time to impart consistency to the 
 
312 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 story, and the purpose was for the time abundantly an- 
 swered. 
 
 I have had occasion, many months ago, to refer to the 
 transaction of which I have now given you some account, 
 and to expose the fraud in the alteration of the date, by the 
 Anti-masonic papers, ahhough the facts were adverted to 
 very briefly. But as that exposition was unheeded by those 
 for whom it was intended, with a single exception,* I am 
 now prepared to fortify my own, by other testimony, the 
 character of which will not be called in question. With a 
 view to the present essay, about a month since, I addressed 
 the following letter to my friend. Col. Knapp, whose name 
 lias already been mentioned : — 
 
 '' New-York, February b, ISS2. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " You are already acquainted with the fact that I am 
 engaged in the preparation of a work, intended for the pub- 
 lic eye, upon the subject of speculative Freemasonry, and 
 the Antimasonic excitement. In the course of the history 
 which it is my intention to give of the origin and progress 
 of Anti-masonry, it will be incumbent upon me to notice, for 
 the purpose of repelling it, an infamous slander which has 
 connected the name of one of the illustrious dead, with the 
 unhappy transactions lying at the foundation of that excite- 
 ment. From the repeated conversations which we have 
 had together upon this subject, you will readily understand 
 the particular incident to which I would now call your at- 
 tention — especially as your own name has frequently been 
 connected with it by the more reckless of the Anti-masonic 
 presses. You were, as I well recollect, one of the represen- 
 tatives of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, in the Gene- 
 ral Grand Chapter of the United States, at its last septennial 
 
 * T. Weed, Esq., Editur of the Albany Evening Journal. 
 
LETTER XXIX. 31S 
 
 convocation, which was held in the autumn of 1826 ; and 
 as you were what is called a working member, and of 
 course intimately acquainted with all its proceedings, I feel 
 no hesitancy in making the request I am about to prefer, 
 entertaining at the same time the fullest confidence in the 
 authenticity, and a due estimate of the value, of the infor- 
 mation which I know it is in your power to furnish me in 
 reply. Will you, therefore, be kind enough to favor me 
 with as speedy an answer as your convenience will allow, 
 to the following queries ? 
 
 " 1st. Were you present in the General Grand Chapter, 
 in September, 1826, when a companion arrived from the 
 western part of this state, having in his possession certain 
 papers and manuscripts, to lay which before that body he 
 alledged he had been sent hither as an express ? 
 
 " 2d. On what day, and at about what hour, did this spe- 
 cial messenger arrive, and what was the peculiarity, if any, 
 of his manner ? 
 
 " 3d. What course was taken with the said papers, in 
 the first instance ? 
 
 " 4th. What in the second ? 
 
 " 5th. Was the late Most Excellent General Grand High 
 Priest, De Witt Clinton, presiding in the chapter, on that 
 day? 
 
 " 6th. If aye, what was his conduct on that occasion, and 
 what remarks, if any, did he make from the chair on the 
 subject ? 
 
 " 7th. What was the final disposition of the whole matter, 
 so far as the General Grand • Chapter was concerned, offi- 
 cially or otherwise ? 
 
 " By answering the foregoing inquiries, and also by fur- 
 nishing me any additional information that may be within 
 your knowledge or possession, calculated to assist in the 
 elucidation of this branch of my investigations, you will 
 
 not only confer a favor upon me, but do what is of much 
 
 10 
 
314 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 greater and higher consequence — assist in rescuing the 
 memory of a great and virtuous man, who has descended 
 to an untimely grave " v^ith all his country's wishes blest," 
 from one of the most atrocious calumnies ever invented by 
 man. 
 
 " I am, sir, very truly yours, 
 
 "WILLIAM L. STONE. 
 " Col. Samuel L. Knapp." 
 
 To the foregoing letter I was promptly favored with the 
 following communication in reply : — 
 
 ''New-York, February 8, 1832, . 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I embrace this, the first opportunity I have had since 
 the receipt of your letter, to give you such answers to your 
 interrogatories as my best recollections afford. I was a 
 member of the General Grand Chapter of the United States, 
 at their septennial convocation, in September, 1826, having 
 taken my scat as a delegate from the Grand Chapter of 
 Massachusetts. On the second day of the session, the se- 
 cond officer of the General Grand Chapter, — companion 
 Snow, from Ohio, — being in the chair, in the fore part of the 
 day, he stated to that body that a special communication had 
 been made to him from the western part of the state of 
 New- York, and suggested the propriety of putting it into 
 the hands of a committee, before tlic nature of it was known 
 to the chapter at largo. This was agreed to, and I had the 
 honor of being appointed chairman of the committee. It 
 being stated that it might be a matter of importance, the 
 committee forthwith retired to consider the communication. 
 I went into the committee room without a hint upon the 
 subject, A young gentleman, whose name I never inquir- 
 ed after, presented the committee some printed pages and a 
 manuscript; statini!. at the same time (hat sov(.'ral of the 
 
LETTER XXIX. 315 
 
 masonic fraternity in his part of the country, had appre- 
 hended that some mischief might ensue from the pubHcation 
 of such a work as the printed pages and manuscript pur- 
 ported to be, particularly in the state of feeling which he 
 said prevailed among the Masons in the west. The mes- 
 senger was in the highest state of excitement. The com- 
 mittee patiently heard his story, and having deliberated 
 thereon, returned the messenger his papers without any 
 examination of them, telling him, distinctly, that it was a 
 subject in which the General Grand Chapter could take no 
 part. The committee having agreed unanimously in this 
 opinion, returned to the lodge room and made a verbal re- 
 port. This was accepted with but a few, or no remarks, 
 from the companions, at the time, and without a dissenting 
 voice. In a subsequent portion of that day, our General 
 Grand High Priest, De Witt Clinton, took the chair ; and 
 while in it, inquired if a communication had been made 
 from the fraternity of the west, and if so, what had been 
 done thereon ? I stated to him the course pursued by the 
 committee and chapter, which met with his entire approba- 
 tion ; and he repeated the language which had been used by 
 the committee, that this body had nothing to do with the 
 subject, and, that it was not worthy the notice of Masons. 
 The communication made no excitement in the General 
 Grand Chapter ; they then thought it one of those idle ap- 
 prehensions frequently known among young Masons, and 
 there left it. A few hours after the interview which the 
 messenger had with the committee, he came to me and ap- 
 peared dissatisfied, or, at least, disappointed, at the indiffer- 
 ence shown by the General Grand Chapter on the subject 
 of his communication, and at this time let fall some hints 
 that the writer of the manuscript might at that time be in 
 prison for debt. My reply to him was, if he is imprisoned 
 for debt, go and raise money among the fraternity, to pay 
 
316 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 the debts he is held for, and discharge ihem, and see that lie 
 has his liberty, and his manuscripts as soon as possible. 
 
 " In this, as in all other intercourse I ever had with our 
 Grand High Priest, De Witt Clinton, I have ever found him 
 honorable and high-minded, and in a most remarkable de- 
 gree possessing the confidence and affection of all the mem- 
 bers of the General Grand Chapter, while at the head of the 
 institution, which was a period of nearly twenty years ; and 
 how deeply he was lamented at his death, will be seen by 
 looking at the proceedings of the General Grand Chapter, 
 in September, 1829. 
 
 " Yours, truly, 
 
 " SAMUEL L. KNAPR 
 
 " To Wm. L. Stone, Esq." 
 
 Conclusive, however, nay, triumphant, as I think this vin- 
 dication might be considered, even were the case to be rested 
 here, — more especially when taken in connexion with the 
 facts and circumstances touching the conduct of Governor 
 Clinton, in relation to the Morgan business, and the portions 
 of his correspondence respecting it, which have been incor- 
 porated in several of the preceding letters — yet there is 
 other and stronger testimony in reserve. I have already 
 intimated in the present letter, that Gov. Clinton was in his 
 life-time apprised, to some extent, of the aspersions cast up- 
 on his character upon this subject, and that he was not back- 
 ward in the adoption of measures to rescue his own good 
 name from the obloquy. No further evidence of this fact 
 need be adduced — stronger testimony cannot be — than the 
 following correspondence, which took place between Gov. 
 C. and Jacob Le Roy, Esq., a gentleman of great respecta- 
 bility residing in the county of Genesee, a short time pre- 
 viously to the lamented decease of tlie former : — 
 
LETTER XXIX. 317 
 
 •' Le Roy, October 29, 1827. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " You have, doubtless, been long acquainted with the 
 great excitement prevailing in this section of the state, in 
 consequence of the abduction of Morgan ; which excite- 
 ment, I regret to say, is increasing, owing to the designing 
 views of some of the leaders of the Anti-masonic party. 
 Your name in this transaction, is now becoming conspicuous, 
 and some of our most respectable citizens have informed 
 me, that certain Masons have asserted that you have writ- 
 ten to them, authorising this act. I have endeavored to 
 trace it to its source, and in every instance, where I have 
 been able to meet with the persons said to have made the 
 assertions, have found them slanders ; the person here, who 
 appears most conspicuous in making these charges, is said 
 to be Dr. F****. I have charged him with the fact, which 
 he positively denies. A number of our most influential ci- 
 tizens, your friends, knowing my acquaintance with you, 
 have requested me to write, and beg of you to answer the 
 following questions : — 
 
 " Did you know that any attempts were to be made to 
 carry oft* Morgan, previous to his abduction ? 
 
 " Did you ever, in conversation with Dr. F****, or Mr. 
 B****, of Batavia, or any other Mason, lead them to sup- 
 pose you were in favor of his abduction ? 
 
 " Have you ever written to any Mason, authorising the 
 act ? 
 
 "Did you, while on your visit to this county, in the sum- 
 mer of 1826, attend any of their Masonic meetings ? 
 
 " Did you, as has been stated by Southwick, tender your 
 hospitality to Col. King, while in Albany, knowing at the 
 time, he had been a participator in these transactions ? 
 
 " You, no doubt, may think I am bold and free in thus 
 questioning you, on subjects in which you may think I have 
 
318 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 no concern ; — but, my dear sir, it is from the purest motives 
 (being perfectly satisfied in my own mind of the wicked- 
 ness of these charges,) that your exalted character, should 
 be shielded from such assassin-like attacks. I am persua- 
 ded your denial of these assertions will put the authors to 
 that disgrace which they so justly deserve, and put down 
 at once these infamous reports. 
 
 " I have again to beg you will not take offence at this 
 communication, coming, as you well know, from one, who 
 ever has been a strong friend and admirer of your charac- 
 ter. 
 
 " With the greatest respect, 
 
 " Believe me, most sincerely, 
 
 " Your friend, 
 " JACOB LE ROY. 
 " To his excellency, 
 
 " De Witt Clinton, Albany T 
 
 " New-York, November 3, 1827. 
 *' My dear Sir, 
 
 " I have received your letter of the 29th of October, 
 and have a full impression of the honorable and friendly 
 motives which governed you in writing it ; — I beg you to 
 accept my sincere thanks. I shall now answer it fully, and 
 satisfactorily, and with great pleasure. 
 
 " I have always condemned the abduction of Morgan, 
 and have never spoken of the measure, but as a most un- 
 warrantable outrage, and as deserving the most severe 
 punishment. I had no previous knowledge of any such 
 intention. I never gave it, before or after, the least en- 
 couragement, cither verbally or in writing, directly or 
 indirectly. 
 
 You may recollect that I was in your county, in July, 
 1826. During that time I attended no masonic meeting, 
 
LETTER XXIX. 319 
 
 nor did I ever speak to Dr. F****, Mr. B****, or any other 
 person, in a way that would lead them to suppose that I 
 countenanced any outrage on Morgan, or any other person, 
 nor can I recollect to have had any conversation at that 
 time, about Morgan, or his intended publication. I cannot 
 think there can be a human being so base as to make such 
 an insinuation, seriously, and believing it. 
 
 " The only time I saw Col. King, after the Morgan affair, 
 was on his way to Washington ; and then he called on me 
 in Albany, to transact some business for the state, when at 
 the former place, which I declined committing to his agen- 
 cy. I had no satisfactory proof of his being concerned in 
 that outrage. Indeed he introduced the subject himself, 
 disclaiming all participation. 
 
 " I have seen, if I recollect right, in Miller's Batavia pa- 
 per, an assertion that in virtue of an official station in Ma- 
 sonry, I might have avoided a discovery of the offenders, 
 or prevented the offence. It is sufficient to say, that this 
 assertion is totally false. 
 
 " I have also seen, in a Le Roy paper, say of the 17th of 
 October, an averment, from an anonymous writer, that he 
 had heard a Mason say, he would not have been concerned 
 in the outrage, if he had not seen a letter from me favora- 
 ble to the act. Although very reluctant to institute prose- 
 cutions against printers, yet, in this case, I am willing to de- 
 part from a general rule ; and unless the printers disavow 
 the nefarious slander, and give up the name of the writer 
 for prosecution, which 1 authorise you to demand, I shall 
 not fail to bring them before a tribunal of justice. 
 
 *' You may make such use of this letter' as you may think 
 proper. 
 
 " I am, truly, your friend, 
 
 « DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 " To Jacob Le Roy, Esq. 
 
 " Ttr Roy, Genesee counti/, N. F." 
 
320^ LETTER XXIX. 
 
 " Le Roy, Novemher 13, 1827, 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Your favoi" of the 3d inst. came to hand in due 
 pourse, by which I was much pleased to perceive, that my 
 communication was received in the friendly manner intend- 
 ed. On the receipt of it, I immediately called on the edi- 
 tors of our village paper, and demanded the author of the 
 libellous attack made on you, in their paper of the 18th. 
 They readily gave up the name, which I should have in- 
 formed you of sooner, but at the request of the gentleman 
 implicated, (whose name is James Ballard,) who wished I 
 should defer writing you, until he could procure some de- 
 positions to prove the source from which it had originated. 
 He has this day put me in possession of these documents, 
 with the wish that I should enclose them to you. These 
 papers will enable you to see from whence the slander has 
 its origin. Mr. Ballard's standing here has always been 
 very respectable, and he is a gentleman of considerable 
 property. 
 
 " There is no doubt in my mind, that a letter, purporting 
 to have been written by you, approving of this outrage, has 
 been circulated through this country ; but whether by the 
 Masons, as a motive to urge on people to this disgraceful 
 transaction, or by other persons for political purposes, I am 
 unable to say. No pains have been spared to satisfy the 
 people, of your being deeply implicated in the afiair. The 
 course you have now determined to take, however, will 
 unravel the mystery, and disclose to you a scene of villainy 
 you are not aware of. 
 
 " I have shown your letter to many of our respectable 
 citizens, who are perfectly convinced of the infamous slan- 
 der, from the frank and decisive manner in which you have 
 replied to all the questions submitted in my letter to you of 
 ihe 29th of last month. A very general wish has been ex- 
 pressed, that J should permit the letter to be published, but 
 
LETTER XXIX. 321 
 
 1 have declined doing so, until I know your pleasure on the 
 subject. Most respectfully, your friend, 
 
 " JACOB LE ROY. 
 " To his excellency, 
 
 " De Witt Clinton, Albany J^ 
 
 ''Albany, December 14, 1827. 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " On my return from New- York, last month, I found 
 your letter of the 13th November, Mr. Ballard's of the same 
 date,* and the affidavits of Franklin Marsh, Hiram GrifFen, Eli- 
 as Cooly and Mollis Pratt,t fixing the authorship of the slan- 
 ders against me on James Ganson. Between that time and 
 this, my attention has been so entirely engrossed with the 
 recent and approaching session of the legislature, that I had 
 not time to attend to any but public concerns. I now thank 
 you for your very prudent and friendly course. Mr. Bal- 
 lard's conduct would have appeared in the same light, if, 
 instead of being the trumpeter of a vile slander, and what 
 he must have known to be such, he had consulted me, if he 
 could have possibly wanted any satisfaction, in a case of 
 slander so obviously diabolical. But as he has fixed the 
 authorship on Ganson, I shall require from the latter a writ- 
 ten document. If this is not satisfactorily furnished, an- 
 other course must be pursued. It may be proper to men- 
 tion, that the Morgan committee of Batavia, have, much 
 in honor of their candor, done justice to my conduct rela- 
 ting to this whole aflair. 
 
 " I am, dear sir, with my respects to Mrs. Le Roy, 
 " Your sincere friend, 
 
 "DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 « To Jacob Le Roy." 
 
 '^ Vide Appendix, G. f Vide Appendix, H. 
 
 41 
 
322 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 '^Albany, January 5, 1828. 
 « My dear Sir, 
 
 "Did you receive a letter from me dated the 14th De- 
 cember last ? I wish to come to some conclusive result 
 with Ganson. Who is Franklin Marsh, one of the affidavit 
 makers ? If Ganson does not make the amende honorable, 
 in writing, I shall institute a prosecution against him, if i 
 find, on the advice of counsel, that it will lie. 
 " I am your sincere friend, 
 
 " DE WITT CLINTON, 
 " To Jacob Le Roy." 
 
 " Le Roy, January 5, 1828. 
 ** My dear Sir, 
 
 " I have this day "received yours of the 5th, inquiring 
 of me whether a letter written by you on the 14th of last 
 month, had come to hand. I did receive that letter in due 
 course, and did not conceive from its contents, it was your 
 wish that I should have procured Ganson's refutation, but 
 inferred it was your intention to have demanded from him, 
 yourself, such a denial, as you should think satisfactory, or 
 I should have immediately attended to it. I have now had 
 drawn up as strong a denial of the charges, as could be 
 done, to which you have Ganson's signature, and which I 
 hope will meet your approbation.* I should, were I placed 
 in a similar situation, desire the editors of our paper, to pub- 
 lish all these affidavits, and also Ganson's denial, whicli 
 would at once satisfy every one that there was a lie between 
 them, and show the baseness of the slander. You will par- 
 don the liberty I take in thus recommending the publishing 
 of these documents ; ^or, I think, as this libel has been open- 
 ly made, the refutation ought to be equally public, 
 
 ♦ Vide Appendix, Ir 
 
LETTER XXIX. 323 
 
 " With my respects to Mrs. C. and family, and my sin- 
 cere wishes, that you may be blessed with many happy re- 
 turns of the season, believe me, sincerely, your friend, 
 
 " JACOB LE ROY. 
 
 " To his excellency, 
 
 " De Witt Clinton, Albany T 
 
 " P. S. Franklin Marsh, of whom you make inquiries, is a 
 mason by trade, and with whom I am but little acquainted. 
 I am, however, informed that he is a man whose word is 
 entitled to credit." 
 
 The sudden and unexpected decease of the principal in 
 the preceding correspondence, cut it short at this point, and 
 prevented its publication, or the adoption of any other mea- 
 sures in the premises. These interesting papers, and the 
 documents connected with them, are now, consequently, for 
 the first time permitted to see the light. I will not pause 
 to dwell upon them. To comment, would be but to im- 
 peach the understanding of the reader. I will, therefore, 
 only add, upon this point, that, if a long chain of circum- 
 stances, bearing directly upon his innocence, prove any 
 thing ; — if the whole course of his official conduct in this 
 matter, and his private, as well as his public correspon- 
 dence, are to be received in evidence ; — if the testimony of 
 unimpeachable witnesses, is to have its proper weight ; — 
 and, if, superadded to all these, his own solemn declarations, 
 are to be received as the testimony of one, " whose word 
 " but yesterday would have stood against the world," then 
 is the refutation of the foul slander complete : the blot is 
 wiped from the patriot's escutcheon : his name, and his 
 fame, are triumphantly vindicated. 
 
 But while I refrain from comment, it is impossible to fore- 
 go reflection upon the circumstances of the diabolical ca- 
 lumny, thus, as I hope, satisfactorily refuted. That Mor- 
 
324 S*tETTER XXIX. 
 
 gan was basely betrayed, and carried into captivity, wc all 
 know. That he was murdcr(3d, I have long since ceased to 
 entertain or express a doubt, nor am I aware that in the pre- 
 ceding letters, I have failed, on any proper occasion, to ex- 
 press an abhorrence, not only of that deed, but of the unjus- 
 tifiable methods that have at any time been taken to screen 
 the perpetrators from punishment. Even-handed justice, 
 however, requires that we should be equally unsparing in 
 the bestowment of merited censure upon those who would 
 pursue their victim beyond the precincts of the grave. 
 Deeply as I deplore and execrate the usurpation by indivi- 
 duals, of the execution of public justice, it is impossible to 
 detach from the mind of any man engaged in furthering its 
 behests, the question of personal malice. The quo animo 
 is always sought by every juror, and exerts an influence 
 upon his mind, in all its degrees and relations, from malice 
 prepense, sudden wrath, infatuated zeal, self defence, and 
 monomania, to absolute insanity and idiocy. The three first 
 classes alluded to, are never sanctioned by the tribunals of 
 justice ; yet still, in meting out punishment, they are not 
 lost sight of; and in the stigma infixed upon the character 
 of the oflfender, they receive their appropriate gradation of 
 infamy by the public award. The case then stands thus in 
 contrast — Morgan, a man of no peculiar estimation in socie- 
 ty, with no extensive fiimily relations, and, by his own 
 shewing, essentially guilty of perjury, was, for the viola- 
 tion of his oath, unjustifiably put to death by infatuated Ma- 
 sons, not only without authority, but in shameful violation 
 of the laws of the land. 
 
 Governor Clinton, on the other hand, holding an impor- 
 tant public station — possessed of a reputation dear to him- 
 self and valuable to his country — surrounded by a large and 
 interesting family, and extensive connexions — guilty of no 
 crime or indiscretion, on which even party vengeance could. 
 
LETTER XXX. 325 
 
 at any time, fasten, is accused by persons calling them- 
 selves Anti-masons, of the double murder of Morgan, and 
 of himself! 
 
 By as much as character is dearer to an honorable mind 
 ihan Hfe,is the atrocity of wantonly destroying the former, 
 more infamous than taking the latter, even without the ex- 
 tenuating apology of infatuation. What relative or friend 
 of Gov. Clinton, would not infinitely have preferred that he 
 should have been murdered, than that his character should 
 have been destroyed by such abominable imputations, if the 
 proofs of their falsity were not, fortunately and triumphant- 
 ly attainable ? That they are so, affords no palliation to 
 the infamy of his accusers ; — and the attempt, either in this 
 state, or in Pennsylvania, to sustain the cause of Anti-ma- 
 sonry by traducing the illustrious dead with a calumny so 
 foul and vital, can excite little less abhorrence than the 
 deed it proposes to avenge. 
 
 With great regard, I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 New- York, March 4, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The publication of the entire lectures of the first three 
 degrees of Freemasonry, including the obligations of those 
 degrees, by Miller, from the manuscripts of Morgan, had 
 induced many members of the fraternity, to reflect more 
 seriously than they had previously done, upon the binding 
 efficacy of those obligations, including, of course, those of 
 the higher degrees. Alarmed, as many religious members 
 of the order were, in regard to the moral influence of the 
 institution, as it had been illustrated in the case of Morgan, 
 and the conduct of a considerable portion of the craft re- 
 
326 LETTER XXX. 
 
 specting it, public renunciations had been frequent, almost 
 from the time the accounts of the outrage had been first 
 noised abroad. 
 
 These renunciations were not confined to thc^'western 
 section of country, nor to any particular calling. ^ Mem- 
 bers of the bar, and of the clerical profession ; the merchant, 
 the mechanic, and the agriculturist, in many parts of the 
 country, within and without the state of New- York, came 
 forward, from time to time, publishing to the world their 
 renunciations of the order, together with their reasons for 
 so doing. It is no part of my duty to canvass the wisdom, 
 the necessity, or the policy, of adopting this method of ab- 
 juring the institution, and its obligations. It is sufficient to 
 state the fact ; but while I do this, I am free to declare, that, 
 from the character and intelligence of the greater portion 
 of those thus renouncing, we have no right to question the 
 purity of their motives. Having so renounced, and reason- 
 ed themselves into a perfectly sincere belief, that none of 
 their obligations either were, or ought to be, of any binding 
 force whatever, (being, in their opinion, contrary to the spi- 
 rit both of the civil and the divine law,) a convention of 
 Masons of this description was held at Le Roy, in the coun- 
 ty of Genesee, on the 19th of February, 1828. 
 
 The object of this convention was an interchange of sen- 
 timents upon the subject which was now engrossing so large 
 a portion of the public mind, and a full and free discussion 
 of the principles and obligations of the masonic institution. 
 The convention was opened with religious services by at- 
 tending clergymen, and organized by the choice of Leonard 
 B. Rose, Esq., as president, and the Rev. David Barnard, 
 secretary. After full discussions had taken place, the con- 
 vention adopted the following opinions, viz : — In regard to 
 the antiquity of the institution, that it was not ancient ; 
 on the score of morals^ that it did not promote morality ; — 
 touching its benevolence, that it was not benevolent ; — re- 
 
LETTER XXX. 327 
 
 specting its ceremonies, that they were degrading, and op- 
 posed to Christianity ; — and, in fine, that it was the duty of 
 honest Masons to expose the secrets and obHgations of the 
 order to the world. 
 
 Morgan's book was then examined, and it was declared 
 by the convention to be a full and fair revelation of the first 
 three degrees of speculative Masonry. To the truth of 
 this declaration, thirty-five seceding Masons, of various de- 
 grees, "solemnly and sincerely testified," by subscribing 
 their names. 
 
 The convention proceeded to make what they have pro- 
 nounced a full and fair disclosure of the obligations of the 
 four higher degrees of ancient Masonry, together with the 
 degrees of knighthood to the Templar's inclusive. The 
 four former correspond with those contained in " Bernard's 
 " Light on Masonry," to the general character of which I 
 have been called to testify my own opinion, before a legal 
 commission. It is unnecessary to repeat that opinion in 
 this place. But in regard to the obligations of the Red 
 Cross Knights, and the Templars, as disclosed by this con- 
 vention, I am free to declare that I know of no such obliga- 
 tions in any degrees. Seven members of the convention 
 are represented in the proceedings, to have been knights, 
 and have sanctioned the obligations to which I refer. But 
 I am at a loss to conjecture where, or in what country, such 
 obligations could have been devised, or by what masonic 
 authority adopted. I have received those degrees, and as- 
 sisted in conferring them ; and certain I am, that such obli- 
 gations were new to me, when I saw them in the printed 
 report of the proceedings of this convention. My impres- 
 sion is, that they must have been devised westward of Al- 
 bany, and imposed upon candidates without the sanction of 
 any governing body. Indeed I am authorised to state, that 
 when the forms of those obligations were receivf^i in this 
 city, measures were taken by the (rrand Encampment to 
 
328 LETTER XXX. 
 
 ascertain whether any encampment under its jurisdiction 
 had in fact ever administered any such obHgations, and if 
 so. where, and by whom they had been imposed. 
 
 The concluding acts of this convention were, the ap- 
 pointment of a committee " to draft a memorial to Con- 
 " gress on the subject of the prostitution of the fortress of 
 " Niagara, to the incarceration of William Morgan, by per- 
 " sons calling themselves PVeemasons, without any legal 
 " authority for such violence and coercion ;" and also the 
 appointment of a committee of arrangements for a great 
 Anti-masonic celebration of the national festival, on the 
 4th of the ensuing month of July. 
 
 The memorial to Congress, as directed by the foregoing 
 resolution, was presented by Mr. Tracy, in the month of 
 May following, and its reference to the judiciary committee 
 suggested. It charged that the military post at Niagara, 
 under the care of officers of the army of the United States, 
 had been made subservient to the illegal course alledged 
 to have been pursued in respect to Morgan, and prayed 
 that an inquiry might be instituted in Congress upon that 
 subject. Several gentlemen spoke on the presentation of 
 the memorial, and among others, Messrs. Tracy and Storrs, 
 of New- York ; Barbour, of Virginia ; and Wright, of 
 Ohio. It was considered by the house, that the investiga- 
 tion of abuses of that description, if any existed, belonged, 
 in the first instance, to the Executive Department, which 
 had the charge and superintendence of the army. The 
 memorial, wiiich, by the way, was accompanied by no 
 proofs, was therefore referred to the President of the Uni- 
 ted States ; and it was not heard from afterwards. The 
 course of the debate clearly showed, that in the then pos- 
 ture of political affairs, there was a general wish, on all 
 sides, to rid themselves of any inquiry into such a matter : 
 and all parties seemed to acquiesce in the disposition thus 
 mafic of the memorial. The inquiry had such bearings, in 
 
LETTER XXX. 329 
 
 many directions, that all parties in Congress appeared at a 
 loss how to handle a subject of so much novelty, and the 
 scope of which was not so fully or clearly developed, 
 as to enable any one to foresee the probable effect which 
 the investigation might have on their particular views in 
 the then approaching election. 
 
 Another convention assembled at the same place, on 
 the 6th of March following. It consisted of seventy- 
 nine members, representing twelve counties, and comprised 
 a formidable array of talent and high personal character 
 and wealth. General William Wadsworth was chosen 
 president of this convention, and Dr. Matthew Brown and 
 Robert Fleming, Esq. secretaries. It was by this body of 
 citizens, that the Anti-masonic party first received, avowed- 
 ly, its political " form and pressure." A series of strong re- 
 solutions was adopted, embodying, substantially, all the 
 charges that had been preferred against Freemasonry dur- 
 ing the controversy, repeating the denunciations of the or- 
 der, individually and collectively, and inveighing against 
 the press, after the violent example set in the primary 
 meetings of the people the year before. In many 
 respects, the committee, in drafting their resolutions, and 
 the members in adopting them, were not as scrupulous in 
 regard to facts, as they should have been. Among other 
 things the convention resolved, " that we discover in the ce- 
 " remonies and obligations of the higher degrees of Mason- 
 " ry, principles which deluged France in blood, and which 
 " tend directly to the subversion of all religion and govern- 
 " ment." Now I must be permitted to say — what I think 
 has already been shown in the earlier part of this exposition, 
 that these very respectable gentlemen had made no such 
 discovery. Those degrees, in this country, at least, neither 
 professedly nor covertly, embrace any principles of the 
 kind. The convention also resolved, that they " lamented 
 
 " the entire subjugation of the press, throughout the Union, 
 
 42 
 
330 LETTER XXX. 
 
 " to the control of Freemasonry." Nothing could have 
 been more unjust, or untrue, than this sweeping proscrip- 
 tion of the whole of the public press, whatever may have 
 been the conduct of a portion of it, which, I am free to ad- 
 mit, was sufficiently reprehensible. Resolutions were like- 
 wise passed, directing the raising of funds for the establish- 
 ment of additional Anti-masonic presses ; thanking the Lew- 
 iston committee for its great exertions to investigate the 
 mysteries of the Morgan outrage ; and proposing the first 
 great Anti-masonic State Convention, to assemble in Utica, 
 on the 4th of August following. The objects of convoking 
 such a convention, were sufficiently broad, as all will admit. 
 It was stated to be necessary — " to take measures for the 
 " destruction of the masonic institution ; for sustaining the 
 " liberty of the press, and asserting the supremacy of the 
 " laws ; for protecting the rights and privileges of the citi- 
 " zens against the vindictive persecutions of members of the 
 " masonic society ; and to take into consideration such oth- 
 " cr business as the said convention shall deem expedient in 
 " the furtherance of such objects." A memorial was, more- 
 over, directed to be sent to Congress, similar to that agreed 
 upon by the preceding convention, just noted above ; and in 
 conclusion, an address to the people was adopted, well cal- 
 culated to prolong the excitement, and increase the popular 
 jealousy and hatred of Masonry. Among other reckless 
 assertions, it was declared to be a fact, without qualifica- 
 tion, that " to the bosom of Freemasonry every revolution 
 "and conspiracy, which has agitated Europe for the last 
 « fifty years, might be distinctly traced ;"— that its princi- 
 ples were identically the same with Illuminism, 6z:c.,— the 
 entire groundlessness of which assertion I have heretofore 
 shown. In addition to this address, a memorial was adopt- 
 ed, and ordered to be presented to the I/egislature, praying 
 for the enactment of laws prohibiting' thr administration of 
 the masonic oblicrations. 
 
LETTER XXX. 331 
 
 By the decease of Gov. Clinton, the duties of chief magis- 
 trate, for the residue of the term, devolved upon the Lieut. 
 Governor — the Hon. Nathaniel Pitcher. On the 18th of 
 March, the excitement at the west not having abated, and 
 the feeling continuing gradually to spread, Gov. Pitcher 
 transmitted a special message upon the subject, to the 
 Senate — the legislature being then in session. As an apo- 
 logy for taking this course, the acting Governor referred to 
 the constitutional requirement, that the person administering 
 the government should " take care that the laws are.faith- 
 " fully executed." He then proceeded briefly to refer to the 
 excitement at the west, in consequence of the alle^dged 
 clandestine removal of a citizen of the state, and the uncer- 
 tainty of his fate. He also referred to the unsuccessful 
 exertions which the citizens had made to develope the mys- 
 t<3rious transaction, and to bring the offenders to justice. 
 He did not directly censure the course that had been adopt- 
 ed by the people ; but suggested, that, while the trials and 
 convictions which had taken place, had rather increased 
 the mystery of the transaction, the efforts of the individual 
 citizens, though stimulated by a patriotic zeal, had not al- 
 ways been guided by discretion ; and had, therefore, as there 
 was reason to fear, tended rather to prevent, than to pro- 
 mote, a judicial developement of the truth. The fact of 
 the sudden and mysterious disappearance of an important 
 witness, was adverted to in the message as an alarming cir- 
 cumstance ;* and under all the circumstances of the case, it 
 was deemed advisable by the Executive, to recommend an 
 exercise of the constitutional powers of the Legislature, in 
 order to facilitate the discovery and punishment of the of- 
 fenders. Some action of this kind, was judged by the Ex- 
 
 * In the summer of 1S27, Elisha Adams, a witness who had been sum- 
 moned to attend the trials at Canandaigua, after proceeding as far as Ro- 
 chester, suddenly disappeared, and was not for a long time heard from, nor 
 could any traces of him be discovered for many montiis. 
 
332 LETTER XXX. 
 
 ecutive to be equally due to the violated majesty of the 
 laws ; to the apprehensions of our fellow citizens, which 
 never could nor ought to be satisfied until justice was ob- 
 tained ; and to those who had been, or might be, included 
 in the general and vague suspicions always produced by 
 such transactions. It was, said the message, an imperative 
 duty to the innocent, that those really guilty should be de- 
 tected and punished. Another inducement for the direct 
 interposition of the government, was found in the belief that 
 such a course w^ould calm the feverish .excitement of the 
 public mind, and prevent designing men from perverting 
 that excitement to their own selfish purposes. The enact- 
 ment of a law was therefore recommended, authorising the 
 appointment of a competent person for the special purpose 
 of investigating the alledged criminal transactions in re- 
 spect to Morgan, and all the incidents connected therewith — 
 and who should be clothed with full and ample powers to 
 perform all duties necessary to a full and fair judicial de- 
 termination of the whole matter. The message was refer- 
 red to the committee on the judiciary, of which Mr. John 
 C. Spencer was chairman. 
 
 Perhaps it may be considered an unfair suggestion — but 
 still, I have not been able to banish the impression, that the 
 people may possibly have been indebted for this special 
 message, to the strong and decided indications of the united 
 and vigorous political action, which had then so recently 
 been manifested at the second Le Roy Convention. The 
 number of counties represented in that body, and the weight 
 of character and influence comprised within it, together 
 with its recommendation of a state convention, preparatory 
 to the next ensuing general elections of the state, shadowed 
 forth too clearly a monition to escape the lynx-eyed po- 
 liticians by whom the acting Governor was surrounded. 
 But, whatever might have been the motive for the sending 
 in of this message immediately after the proceedings of 
 
LETTER XXX. 333 
 
 the convention hadi reached Albany, it was a very proper 
 measure in itself, and might, with propriety, have been pro- 
 posed at an earlier period of the session. 
 
 Three days after the receipt of the message, a bill was 
 reported by the committee, in compliance with the execu- 
 tive recommendation. It was debated and adopted in the 
 Senate on the 25th of March, and sent down to the Assem- 
 bly for concurrence. The bill was taken up in that house, 
 on the 4th of April; and on the 15th it became a law. 
 Daniel Moseley, Esq., of Onondaga county, was immediate- 
 ly commissioned by the Executive, to fill the important of- 
 fice thus created. This appointment did not give the peo- 
 ple in the region of the excitement, so much satisfaction as 
 had been felt by the passage of the law. Mr. Moseley was 
 charged with a want both of talents and energy for the sit- 
 uation ; and although the senatorial district in which he 
 resided, was strongly of his own political party, yet such 
 were the prejudices excited against him in the public mind, 
 that he failed in an attempt to be elected to the Senate, in 
 the autumn subsequent to his apppointment. My own opin- 
 ion upon the subject is, that injustice was done to Mr. Mose- 
 ley, touching the discharge of his duties as special com- 
 missioner. His labors were as faithful as those of any other 
 counsellor employed in those investigations, and he is more- 
 over a sound and virtuous man, whose fidelity in the trans- 
 actions referred to, cannot be, and ought never to have been, 
 questioned. 
 
 The memorial of the Le Roy Convention, remonstrating 
 against the masonic obligations, and praying for the pas- 
 sage of a law prohibiting them altogether, was presented in 
 the Assembly on the 19th of March — the day after the act- 
 ing Governor's message to the Senate. This memorial was 
 referred to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Childs, 
 Granger, and Wardwell. On the 2d of April, following, 
 this committee reported a bill pursuant to the prayer of the 
 
334 LETTER XXX. 
 
 memorialists, which, with tlie accompanying report, was 
 ordered to be printed. But no further mention of it ap- 
 pears on the legislative journals, and the presumption is, 
 that it was never called up. 
 
 Early in the same month, (April,) Messrs. Garlinghouse 
 and Bates, who had been despatched, as I have already sta- 
 ted, to the southwestern part of the territory of the United 
 States, returned from an unsuccessful mission, and made a 
 report ^of their proceedings to the acting Governor. It was 
 known that Smith and Whitney, had fled to the valley of 
 the Mississippi. The officers wenj; thither, but, although 
 they often heard of the fugitives, yet they could not succeed 
 in arresting them. Repairing to Arkansas, they were fur- 
 nished by Gov. Izard with the necessary papers, with which 
 they proceeded to cantonment Towson, upon the Red Ri- 
 ver, twelve hundred miles above its junction with the Mis- 
 sissippi, and arrived there on the 14th of February, 1828. 
 " Mr. Garlinghouse went alone, and privately presented his 
 " papers to the commander of the station, while his com- 
 " panion remained without the fort. He exhibited the or- 
 " der of the Governor, — a letter from, the Adjutant General 
 " of the army, under the direction of the Secretary of War, — 
 "and also a letter from Col. Arbuckle, commanding oflicer 
 " at cantonment Gibson, and requested Capt. Hyde, then in 
 " command of the station, to furnish assistance for the ar- 
 " rest of King, who, it appeared, was then there. This of- 
 " ficer refused to assist himself, or to furnish assistance, or 
 " even to furnish a guard for his removal." He proposed, 
 however, to send for a lieutenant to accompany the sheriff 
 to King's store ; but the officer thus sent for could not be 
 found ; and it afterwards appeared that the captain himself, 
 during the absence of the messenger, held a conversation 
 with the very oflicer for whom he had sent ; and it also 
 appeared, that, after the sheriff had obtained another offi- 
 cer to accompany him to the store, the lieutenant referred 
 
LETTER XXX. SB5 
 
 to, and with whom the captain had thus conversed, had al- 
 ready anticipated the sheriff, and taken King away into the 
 woods. Mr. Bates was afterwards informed by the officer 
 himself, of the fact that he did thus take King away, on 
 learning that messengers had arrived to arrest him for the 
 murder of Morgan, and that he had directed King's clerk ta 
 take his horse to him, where he was waiting for him in the 
 forest. The officers who had thus favored the escape of 
 the fugitive, were understood to be Masons. To attempt a 
 pursuit, in the vast wildernesses of the west, would have 
 been a hopeless undertaking. The idea was therefore 
 abandoned ; and the messengers, after making a fruitless 
 search, even to New-Orleans, for Smith and Whitney, 
 returned to report the circumstances of their bootless mis- 
 sion. - 
 
 The escape of King, and the manner in which, by ma- 
 sonic connivance and even direct assistance, he had been 
 enabled to flee, gave very great offence, and justly. A re- 
 presentation of the conduct of Capt. Hyde was made to 
 the War Department, and that officer was ordered into ar- 
 rest, and to repair to this city for trial ; but nothing fur- 
 ther resulted from that measure. Before, however, suffi- 
 cient time had elapsed for the public to give full vent to its 
 indignation at the manner in which King had been enabled 
 to elude his pursuers, — that is to say, on the 1 7th of May, he 
 suddenly re-appeared at Niagara, having voluntarily re- 
 turned to his former residence — whence his family had not 
 been removed. He immediately published a note in a 
 Lockport paper, under his own signature, addressed to 
 Messrs. Garlinghouse and Bates, informing them of such 
 return, and of his readiness " to transact any business they 
 " might have with him." Attempts had been made during 
 his absence, to procure his indictment lor murder, but with- 
 out success. But he had been indicUu! lor a misdemeanor; 
 and the second rlny i\hoA' his ap])arition, lie went voluntavz- 
 
336 LETTER XXX. 
 
 ly to the ministers of justice, and was recognized, himself in 
 the sum of one thousand dollars, and two sureties in the sum 
 of five hundred dollars each, for his appearance at the next 
 term of the court. In a week thereafter, he published an 
 address to the public, respecting his case, well calculated to 
 make a favorable impression in his behalf. 
 
 This return of Col. King, after the escape at cantonment 
 Towson, and his subsequent conduct, are among the most 
 remarkable incidents of these extraordinary transactions. 
 People knew not what to make of it. His original flight 
 could not have been without cause ; nor, unless he had ve- 
 ry powerful reasons for so doing, would he voluntarily have 
 retreated four thousand miles distant from his home, and 
 buried himself twelve hundred miles deep in the wilder- 
 ness, merely for the emolument of the paltry official situa- 
 tion he had obtained. Why, moreover, should he have 
 thus fled from the faces of his pursuers, if he knew he 
 could safely throw himself back into the hands of his accu- 
 sers, and repose securely upon his innocence ? It was, in 
 all respects, an unaccountably strange movement ; serving to 
 add another shade to the deep mystery, which it even now' 
 seems hkely will not be solved in all its ramifications, until 
 the great day of final account. 
 
 From this period the character of Anti-masonry began 
 to change. Indeed the effervescence which, during so many 
 months, had kept a large section of the state in ceaseless 
 agitation, had been gradually subsiding for some time. It 
 was in truth impossible that it should be otherwise. There 
 must necessarily be a point, above which the passions can- 
 not rise, and a stage, beyond which popular excitement and 
 delusion cannot be carried. The crises — the highest peri- 
 ods of action — cannot continue long, ere the mind will break, 
 and fall into positive delirium. In these respects, the law 
 of nature is as imperative in the physical, as in the natural 
 world. And while a strong popular excitement by sufficient 
 
LETTER XXXI. 337 
 
 causes, may be impelled impetuously forward like the heav- 
 ing billow of the storm-driven ocean, yet when the storm 
 is spent, it will fall back to its level, like the same angry 
 billow when it breaks. But although the effervescence did 
 thus pass away, and the troubled elements become more 
 tranquil, there was no mitigation of the hatred of Masonry, 
 and no faltering in the determination to put it down. The 
 Anti-masons were less clamorous, perhaps, but not the less 
 resolute in their measures, or fixed in their purposes. Those 
 purposes were still to pursue their investigations in regard 
 to the fate of Morgan — to detect and punish the offenders, 
 if possible — and, in any event, to carry the question to the 
 polls at all our elections. To this end, measures were now 
 taken, and steadily pursued. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, &;c. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 New- York, March 6, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The next trial of persons implicated in the abduction 
 of Morgan, and hitherto the most important in its charac- 
 ter and results, was that of Eli Bruce, Orsamus Turner, and 
 Jared Darrow, which took place before the Court of Gene- 
 ral Sessions of Ontario, at Canandaigua, on the 20th of Au- 
 gust, 1828. These defendants, it will be recollected, had 
 been jointly indicted for a conspiracy, at the August term 
 of the same court, in the preceding year. The prosecution 
 was conducted by Daniel Moseley, Esq. the special coun- 
 sel, assisted by B. Whiting, Esq., the District Attorney. 
 The case was opened to the jury by Mr. Whiting, who had 
 had much experience upon the subject. It was, of course, ne- 
 cessary again to go over with the whole history of the con- 
 
 43 
 
338 LETTER xxxr. 
 
 spiracy from the beginning, wlien the warrant for the alledg- 
 ed larceny was issued against Morgan by Justice Chipnian, 
 The only new points elicited by the testimony of this ma- 
 gistrate, were, that when the warrant was granted at the 
 solicitation of Cheseboro, the latter — who well knew that 
 he was going fifty miles into another county, to seize his 
 victim — told the justice that Morgan was then only about 
 six miles oiF. The warrant was directed " to the sherift', 
 " any constable, or to N. G. Cheseboro, one of the coroners 
 " of this county." The particulars of the arrest of Morgan, 
 were proved by Halloway Haywai'd, and those of his being 
 taken from the jail at Canandaigua, by the jailor's wife, as 
 before. Hiram Hubbard, the keeper of a livery stable, who 
 had driven the party from Canandaigua, to eighty or one 
 hundred rods beyond Hanford's Landing, on the night of the 
 12th September, again underwent a long examination ; but 
 his memory appeared to be very conveniently forgetful. He 
 heard a cry or shriek, while harnessing his horses, but there 
 was no signal for him to start. The general details of the 
 journey were the same as heretofore given, with the excep- 
 tion that at Victor, he did not recollect where they had 
 stopped, — whether at Beach's tavern, or at some distance 
 beyond — but he declared that he only stopped at the water- 
 ing trough, and was not certain that any person got out of 
 the carriage there. The testimony upon this point, was 
 widely ditierent from that adduced upon it, at the first trial 
 before Judge Throop, in January, 1827 ; — and it is surpris- 
 ing how a man could discipline his mind to forget so well. 
 At Rochester, just about day-lio:ht, one of the passengers 
 left the carriage, and was gone abou^fiftecn minutes, when, 
 as the witness supposed, the same person returned, and re- 
 sumed his seat. The witness scarcely recollected any thing : 
 but he presumed that he wns told to drive to Hanfc^rd's 
 Landing, as hv did drive there, and stopped to obtain pro- 
 vender for his horses, but found none. He then drove fur- 
 
LETTER XXXT. 339 
 
 thor on, leaving his passengers, as heretofore recited, about 
 one hundred rods beyond that place, near a piece of woods. 
 He did not recollect being told to keep the curtains of his 
 carriage down, on going out, but he rolled them up before 
 he reached Rochester, on his return. When the passen- 
 gers left his carriage, he did not observe them, particular^ 
 ly, although he supposed he might have seen them, if he 
 had desired to do so. He left his passengers standing in the 
 road, and did not see them enter any other carriage. He 
 met two carriages on his return to Rochester — one a green 
 one ; — and a man in a sulkey. On the first trial of Chese- 
 boro and others, Hubbard testified that he had not been 
 paid for this trip. He now acknowledged that Cheseboro 
 had paid him some months afterwards, while he was in 
 prison. 
 
 Ezra Pratt, the keeper of a livery stable in Rochester, 
 testified, that on the 13th of September, he furnished a hack, 
 either a cinnamon coloured or a green one, to go to the in- 
 stallation at Lewiston. It was called for by a man about 
 day-light, and he was told to charge " the Grand Chapter 
 ^^pro tem.^^ for the use of it. He made the entry thus in 
 his books, and had not been paid for the use of it. He 
 had hired a carriage to George Ketchum, to go to Batavia, 
 about the time of Morgan's arrest at that place — or the day 
 before, he believed. He did not hear of the abduction of 
 Morgan, until some days after it was said to have taken 
 place, and had no knowledge that he had ever been trans- 
 ported in his carriage. He did not know who " the Grand 
 " Chapter pro tern.," was, but presumed that somebody 
 would call after a while, and pay the carriage hire. A 
 number of other witnesses proved the movements of the 
 carriage at and about Hanford's, under suspicious circum- 
 stances. Four or five persons were in the carriage, among 
 whom one of the witnesses recognized Burrage Smith, as 
 ho supposed. There was a man on horse-back, who ap- 
 
340 LETTKR XXXI. 
 
 peared to accompany, or pass the carriage. This man 
 was Edward Doyle, of Rochester. Other witnesses satis- 
 factorily proved a carriage to have passed along the Ridge 
 Road, from the place where Hubbard had left his passen- 
 gers, towards Lewiston, under extraordinary circumstances ; 
 not stopping at public houses, and being drawn by horses 
 belonging to persons living on the road ; changed in bye 
 places ; driven by men who could not be ordinarily engag- 
 ed in such an occupation ; and generally preceded by some 
 one to procure the necessary relays of horses. Solomon 
 C. Wright, the keeper of the tavern on the Ridge Road, 
 where, as it has been formerly proved, there was a ma- 
 sonic gathering on the 13th., and where the mysterious car- 
 riage was driven into the barn, was again examined, but 
 no new evidence was obtained from him. Six miles west 
 of this place, where the road from Lockport — the resi- 
 dence of Bruce — intersects the Ridge Road — lived Col. 
 Mollineaux, to whom, in the night of the 13th, Bruce applied 
 for horses to go to Lewiston. Bruce called him up from 
 his bed — obtained the horses, and with the mysterious car- 
 riage proceeded forward, as I have formerly mentioned. 
 Cory don Fox was Hkewise again a witness on the present 
 trial. His testimony corresponded in the main, with that 
 formerly given, as to the arrival of the carriage in Lewis- 
 ton, and its being driven into a back street in the night. To 
 this place he drove another carriage, took the passengers out 
 of the former, and proceeded down to Youngstown. The 
 particulars of the visit to the house of Col. King ; his join- 
 ing them ; and the leaving of the whole party near the bury- 
 ing ground, corresponded with his former relations. When 
 the carriage started from Lewiston, Bruce got upon the 
 box, and told him to drive to Col. King's. James Perry, of 
 Lewiston, who had testified on the former trial, that, while 
 watching with a sick person on the back street where the 
 carriage came up, he saw two persons transfer a third from 
 
LETTER XXXI. 341 
 
 one carriage into another, repeated his statement as before. 
 The person was without a hat, and appeared to be intoxi- 
 cated. He also saw them take something Hke a jug from 
 the first carriage. But Fox swore that he saw nothing of 
 this, and, indeed, observed nothing strange or unusual in 
 the whole affair. He had often been called up before of 
 nights — and though never engaged in smuggling, was not 
 accustomed to ask questions about other people's business. 
 In a part of this testimony, it will be observed, Fox forgot 
 his revelations to Mosher, and he also now swore that he 
 had no recollection of having spoken of the circumstances 
 of that night, as being in any wise strange. But to a ques- 
 tion whether he had not been taken into a lodge on the day 
 after this transaction, Fox appealed to the court for protec- 
 tion against questions that might criminate himself. The 
 court ruled that he need not answer the interrogatory. 
 
 Edward Giddings, a personage of great importance in 
 the future developements of this history, was now called 
 upon the stand as a witness, but objected to by Mr. Griffin, 
 of counsel for the defence, on the ground of his being an 
 unbeliever in the christian religion, and, therefore, an in- 
 competent witness. A number of witnesses were called 
 to establish this position. A man named David Morrison, 
 testified that he had known Giddings intimately since 1820 ; 
 had often heard him declare his opinion that there was no 
 God ; and that a belief in any thing spiritual superior to 
 nature, was contrary to reason and philosophy. Giddings 
 used the term God, as equivalent to the laws of nature ; 
 but he always admitted that there was an inward monitor 
 pointing out good and evil. Morrison said he had receivr 
 ed a letter from Giddings, in IvS26, containing the same sen- 
 timents, but he had never responded to that letter in wri- 
 ting. Another witness, named Gray, from Canada, who 
 had resided a few days in the house of Giddings, in 1826, 
 proved that the latter had no belief whatever in futurity, 
 
342 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 and prided himself on his philosophy. The Bible, he said, 
 was a pretty story to amuse children with. Giddings had a 
 fine library, and witness said they were in the habit of 
 reading and admiring Voluey's Ruins. In all respects, 
 other than his religious views, Giddings was a man whose 
 character was much respected. Gray first became ac- 
 quainted with Giddings in a masonic lodge ; and on his cross 
 examination he admitted that he had come over from Can- 
 ada voluntarily to testify against him, because, as it was fear- 
 ed, he, (Giddings,) was probably intending to testify some- 
 thing against Mr. M'Bride. Another witness swore, that in 
 1816, Giddings had inquired of him what he thought about 
 the being called God — adding, himself, that he would as 
 soon kneel down to a cat, a dog, or a horse, as to the be- 
 ing so called. The counsel for the defence then read the 
 letter of Giddings, above referred to, addressed to Morrison. 
 In this letter, among many other specimens of infidelity, 
 were the following sentiments. — " God has the same care of 
 " a man as of an insect, of an insect as of a tree, of a tree as 
 " of a stone. With him there can be no difference or dis- 
 " tinction between beauty and deformity, virtue and vice, 
 " perfection and imperfection. Prayers are but mockery 
 " to his name, and ought not to be encouraged." " All 
 " [that] men can do, cannot change him. He is not sus- 
 " ceptible of persuasion, and, as relates to man, lie is in- 
 " capable of love or hatred." " This is my notion of vir- 
 " tue and vice ; that they do not refer to any future time, 
 " but relate altogether to man in his present state.'' " My 
 " views arc not in accordance with the Bible, for that book 
 " represents the deity as vindictive, revengeful and in- 
 « consistent." The date of this letter was April 10th, 1827. 
 The counsel for the defence, himself, swore, that in the pre- 
 ceding month of May, he had called on Giddings, and held 
 some conversation with him about the approaching trials. 
 He told Giddings that they meant to shut out his testimony, 
 
LETTER XXXI, S4B 
 
 but they were afraid Mr. B , (a zealou/ proselyting 
 
 professor of religion, since deceased,) would convert him. 
 
 To this Giddings replied that B was the last man who 
 
 could convert him. 
 
 To sustain the character of Giddings, and counteract the 
 preceding testimony against him, a number of persons were 
 called by the prosecution. One witness testified that he 
 had known Giddings fourteen years, and had often held con- 
 versations with him on religious subjects, in which he had 
 always expressed his belief in a supreme being. He had 
 heard him so express his belief within fifteen months pre- 
 ceding the examination. He had never heard Giddings say 
 that man was not responsible to God, or that God would not 
 punish man ; and it was never questioned in the neighbor- 
 hood, but that he believed in a supreme being, and relied 
 upon his protection. Another witness testified to a perfect- 
 ly accidental conversation with Giddings, just about one 
 year previously, while waiting at the ferry. This conver- 
 sation was astronomical, and Giddings then avowed his be- 
 lief in a deity, who created and superintended all things. 
 Nothing, he said on that occasion, came by chance. An- 
 other witness, (the new sherift' of Niagara,) who had known 
 Giddings seven years, having heard that he did not believe 
 in the existence of a God, asked him how it was. Giddings 
 replied that he believed in an overruling providence, or su- 
 preme being, — he [the witness] not recollecting which term 
 he had used. Giddings also added his belief that virtue was 
 rewarded, and vice punished. The counsel for the prose- 
 cution here put in and read two letters ; — the first was from 
 Morrison to Giddings, in which he responded fully to the 
 sentiments contained in the letter quoted above, although M. 
 had just sworn that he had written him no reply. The se- 
 cond was a letter dated Cincinnati, Ohio, April 19, 1818, 
 from Mr. Giddinp^s to his wife, in which he twice recogniz- 
 
344 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 ed a God, and earnestly invoked his protection for health 
 and safety to return to his family. 
 
 The prosecution then proposed to adduce testimony of 
 the good character of Giddings ; but the court remarked, 
 that moral character, however stainless, would not obviate 
 the objection. The law requires a higher sanction for the 
 administration of an oath. The question of admitting the 
 witness to be sworn, was argued at length by the counsel 
 of both sides; but the court, after consultation, ruled that 
 the sentiments of Giddings rendered his testimony inadmis- 
 sible. A person, to be a competent witness, must believe in 
 a supreme being who holds men accountable for their con- 
 duct. No man, said Judge Howell, can be a witness, who 
 denies this accountability. 
 
 Elisha Adams was then called upon the stand. The coun- 
 sel for the defendants remarked, that as Mr. A. stood indict- 
 ed for a participation in the same offence, they hoped the 
 court would be careful that his rights were not invaded. A 
 long examination followed, but nothing of importance was 
 elicited from this witness. The only fact bearing upon the 
 question, was an acknowledgment that Giddings came into 
 the woods where he was at work, and requested him to go 
 and see Col. King, Dr. Maxwell, and Obed Smith. On his 
 cross-examination, he said this incident occurred the spring 
 succeeding the outrage upon Morgan ; but he was also com- 
 pelled to acknowledge the fact, that King had left the coun- 
 try in the previous autumn, and was not at Youngstown at 
 any time in the spring of 1827. 
 
 The next witness called was John Jackson; and as his 
 evidence afibrds a striking specimen of that description of 
 testimony which has contributed so much to the public dis- 
 satisfaction in regard to what have been called " masonic 
 " witnesses," 1 think it important to give his examination 
 without much abridgment. The report 1 am compressing, 
 
LETTER XXXI. 345 
 
 is that of the^ Anti-masonic Inquirer, of Rochester, which 
 Mr. Moseley, the special counsel, has certified to a commit- 
 tee of the legislature to be substantially correct. John 
 Jackson lived at Lockport, in 1826, but was at the house of 
 Giddings on the night of the 13th of September ; and on the 
 morning of the 14th — 
 
 " They were all going to the installation at Lewlston ; Mr. Giddings did 
 not go ; witness did not go with the rest ; Giddings went to the fort in the 
 morning, accompanied by witness ; don't recollect what Giddings carried 
 with him ; it might have been provisions ; Giddings had some drink too ; 
 thinks he did take some food up ; don't know whether it was in his hand, on 
 his arm, or tied round his body ; Giddings went toioards the magazine ; wit- 
 ness did not see hira open it ; believes he saw the door of the magazine open; 
 supposes Giddings opened it ; did not see any body in the magazine ; heard 
 a noise ; don't know what it was ; it was a voice from the magazine ; did not 
 see any body ; don't know whether it was a man or a woman ; it was the 
 voice of a person ; did not see Giddings leave any thing in the magazine j 
 don't know that there is any window to the magazine ; witness did not stay 
 there long; don't recollect what conversation Giddings had with the person 
 in the magazine ; saw Giddings have a pistol at the house ; don't recollect 
 seeing it at the magazine ; Giddings presented the pistol to witness, but he 
 declined taking it ; did not see Giddings lay it down ; heard something said 
 at the magazine about a pistol, but don't recollect certain what it was ; don't 
 know exactly whether Giddings opened the door of the magazine ; thinks the 
 door was open, and that Giddmgs conversed with a man who was inside ; 
 don't know but Giddings said, " here is some victuals and drink for you;'* 
 did not stand very near the magazine door ; might have been two rods off; 
 don't recollect but that Giddings might have spoken to the voice within, about 
 the pistol. "When Giddings opened the door, witness might have been look- 
 ing the other way ; Giddings did not go into the magazine ; the noise wa« 
 not very loud ; don't recollect any words; heard the noise after he got away; 
 he was for making off when he heard the voice ; did not see Giddings leave 
 any thing with the man ; did not see him take any thing back to the house ; 
 if he took provisions up, he presumed that he left them; saw Giddings take 
 the pistol up as they started to go to the fort ; witness thought it was time to 
 he miseing, when he heard the noise ; Giddings did talk to the man in the 
 magaains ; witness did not stop to sss any doer shut." 
 
 To a question whether the witness carried the pistol to 
 the person who owned it, the counsel for the defendants ob- 
 
 44 
 
346 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 jected, which objection the court sustained. The court also 
 decided that it was improper to ask the witness if Giddings 
 told him that the person in the magazine was William Mor- 
 gan. On a second call to the stand, Jackson testified that 
 he had told a person at Lewiston, on the same day, that a 
 man was confined in the magazine ; but the person to whom 
 he thus told it, was now dead. 
 
 Another witness was down at the fort three or four days 
 after the installation on the 14th September : he had heard 
 that a man was imprisoned there, and talked with Giddings 
 about it, but he did not visit the fort himself, although Gid- 
 dings went thither while witness was at his house. 
 
 The testimony on behalf of the prosecution was here 
 rested, and the counsel for the defence called Nicholas G. 
 Cheseboro ; but after a few moments of consultation, declin- 
 ed having him sworn. 
 
 The counsel for the prosecution then stated that the ex- 
 clusion of the testimony of Mr. Giddings had entirely de- 
 prived them of their testimony against Turner and Darrow, 
 two of the defendants. It was therefore proper for the jury 
 to pass upon their cases at that stage of the proceedings. 
 These parties were accordingly acquitted instanter. 
 
 Gen. Matthews, of counsel for the defence, now interpos- 
 ed an objection to the validity of the indictment. That in- 
 strument set forth a conspiracy at Canandaigua, in the coun- 
 ty of Ontario, to imprison and kidnap William Morgan, 
 and that in pursuance of that conspiracy, he vras imprisoned 
 and carried away, or in other w^ords abducted. The truth 
 was, that Morgan was imprisoned there, in Ontario county j 
 and so far as Bruce was concerned, according to the evi- 
 dence, he had only helped to carry him away in Niagara 
 county, and confine him i lie re. If Bruce had therefore 
 committed any oftence, it was that of false-imprisonment, 
 in which net the indictment must be merged. That oflfenf*e 
 
LETTER XXXI. 347 
 
 being local, the counsel contended that the county of Onta- 
 rio could have no jurisdiction in the case, — the defendant 
 having a right at common lav^ to be tried in the county 
 where the crime is pi'oved to iiave been committed. 
 
 The points thus raised, were ably and ingeniously argued 
 upon both sides. The court entertaining doubts upon the 
 question thus presented, intimated that should the defendant 
 be convicted, the sentence would be suspended until the 
 matter should have been carried up and decided in the Su- 
 preme Court. 
 
 W. H. Adams, Esq., summed up the case to the jury for 
 the defence, and Mr. Moseley closed on the part of the peo- 
 ple. After an absence of four hours, the jury returned into 
 court with a verdict of GUILTY. 
 
 I must confess my surprise at this result, because, strong 
 as were the circumstances to warrant the belief that Mor- 
 gan was in the mysterious carriage that passed along the 
 Ridge Road, on the 13th of September, and also that he 
 was imprisoned in the magazine, I cannot perceive the 
 warrant which the jury had for rendering such a verdict. 
 For as yet there was no proof identifying Morgan, either 
 as having been in the carriage, or in the fort. No doubt 
 existed of the truth of the verdict, but it was clearly not 
 rendered according to law and evidence. But that is a 
 question of little moment for present consideration. 
 
 The rejection of Giddings as a witness, was a sore disap- 
 pointment to the people. It was known from the partial 
 disclosures he had made to the grand jury, upon which all 
 the above named defendants were indicted, and from many 
 other of his declarations, that his testimony, if received, 
 would be of the highest importance. Nothwithstanding, 
 moreover, the liberality of his opinions in matters of reli- 
 gion, his general character for truth and veracity, and in 
 all other respects, as a respectable and moral citizen, was 
 decidedly good. The facts intended to have been proved 
 
348 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 by Giddings, in regard to Turner and Darrow, were these: 
 It had been well ascertained by this time, that three or 
 four projects had been originally devised for carrying Mor- 
 gan away. One was organized at Buffalo, to take him 
 from Batavia thence ; a second was to have taken him 
 from Batavia to Niagara direct, passing through Lock- 
 port. The third, for taking him to Canandaigua, was exe- 
 cuted. But in connexion with the second, it was believed 
 that Turner and Darrow — both living at Lock port, and 
 the former the editor of a paper at that place, — had been 
 sent to Canada to negociate with the Masons there for the 
 reception of Morgan, when he should arrive. Failing in> 
 this project, they returned, and, with Col. King and Gid- 
 dings, made arrangements for imprisoning their victim in 
 the magazine at Niagara, until the question of his final 
 disposition should be determined. Such, briefly, were the 
 facts, respecting Turner and Darrow, which it was intend- 
 ed to have been proved by Giddings, as also the personal 
 identity of the person confined in the Magazine, according 
 to the evasive, quibbling and reluctant testimony of 
 Jackson. 
 
 It is true that a part of the testimony against Giddings — 
 in regard to his religious belief — was of a questionable 
 character. The first witness, however, had neutralized his 
 own testimony by swearing to what was undeniably prov- 
 ed not to be true, before he left the court ; and another 
 witness had avowedly come from Canada, a long distance, 
 as a volunteer to protect a gentleman who was more than 
 suspected of some participation in the outrage. But still, 
 the burden of proof was against Giddings, and the court 
 were clearly right in rejecting him, both by the principles 
 of the constitution and the common law. The courts of 
 this state, when the bench was occupied by Kent, Spencer, 
 Thompson and Piatt — ranking amongst the most exalted ju- 
 rists of the country — had maintained the principle — incor- 
 
LETTKK XXXT. 849 
 
 porated, I believe in one of our statutes — thai a belief in 
 the existence of a Supreme Being, and a Juture state of re- 
 wards and punishments, is an indispensable requirement in 
 a witness. In the formation of our new constitution, in 
 1821, a strong attempt had been made to overthrow this 
 principle ; but the project was successfully resisted by the 
 then Chancellor Kent, and Chief Justice Spencer, together 
 with the late Rufus King, Daniel D. Tompkins and others, 
 who contended that atheists and blasphemers must be held 
 in check, or we should endanger the security of life, liberty 
 and property, and the comfort and happiness of our families. 
 Chancellor Kent said in that convention — indeed it was ad- 
 mitted on all hands, for it could not be denied, — that while 
 the Christian Religion had never been declared, or intended 
 to be declared, the legal religion of the state, yet it was in 
 fact, the religion of the people of the state. It was the foun- 
 dation of all belief and expectation of a future state, and the 
 source and security of moral obligation. The statute di- 
 recting the administering of an oath, referred to the Bible 
 as the sanction to it, on the ground that the Bible was a 
 volume of divine inspiration, and the oracle of the most af- 
 fecting truths that could command the assent, or awaken the 
 fears, or exercise the hopes, of mankind. Mr. King observ- 
 ed in the ' course of the debates to which I have referred, 
 that while the religions of all mankind are by our laws tole- 
 rated, yet the religious professions of the Pagan, the Ma- 
 hometan, and the Christian, are not, in the eye of the law, 
 of equal truth and excellence. According to the christian 
 system, men pass into a future state of existence, where the 
 deeds of their lives become the subject of reward or pun- 
 ishment ; — the moral law rests upon the truth of this doc- 
 trine, without which it has no sufficient sanction. Our laws 
 constantly refer to this revelation, and by the oath which 
 they prescribe, we appeal to the Supreme Being, so to deal 
 with us hereafter, as we observe the obligation of our oaths. 
 
950 LETTER xxxir. 
 
 The pagan world were, and are, without the mighty influ- 
 ence of this principle, which is proclaimed in the christian 
 system — their morals were destitute of its powerful sanc- 
 tion, while their oaths neither awakened the hopes, nor the 
 fears, which a belief in Christianity inspires. Vice Presi- 
 dent Tompkins maintained the same doctrines, insisting that 
 the principle must be preserved, to suppress those outrages 
 on public opinion and public feeling, which would otherwise 
 reduce the community to a state of barbarism, corrupt it 
 purity, and debase the mind.* The principle was retain- 
 ed : and under it, the testimony of Giddings, on that occa- 
 sion, was rightly rejected. 
 
 I am, sir, yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 New- York, March 8, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The general election of this state, occurring in the au- 
 tumn of 1828, connected as it was, with the last election of 
 President of the United States, and as both were, with the 
 progress of Anti-masonry, requires a passing notice in this 
 place. That election was considered of the highest impor- 
 tance, both in reference to the affairs of the state and na- 
 tion. On the decease of Gov. Clinton, the power of the 
 state had fallen entirely into the hands of those who had 
 been the most bitter and persevering in theii^ opposition to 
 him while living. Those, therefore, who had lost power 
 by that melancholy event, were anxious again to recover 
 it, and to place the executive department in the hands of 
 some efficient statesman, who would preserve the dignity of 
 
 * Vide Carter & Stone's Reports, N. Y. Convention, pp. 463—465, and 
 574—576. 
 
LETTER XXXIl. 351 
 
 our state government, by administering it for the benefit of 
 the entire people, rather than merely to answer the selfish 
 purposes of a party. In regard to the election of President 
 of the United States, likewise, deep solicitude was felt for 
 the result. 
 
 Through the whole contest of the election of 1824, the 
 people of this state had been very decidedly in favor of the 
 gentleman who succeeded, and of whom I should probably 
 speak more at large at this moment, were it not for conside- 
 rations of delicacy. And although the politics of New* 
 York have not been remarkably stable, yet for the first two 
 years of the administration to which I refer, it received the 
 cordial support of a very large majority of the people. 
 
 There had, it is true, been a great and visible change in 
 the sentiments of a portion of the people, arising from the 
 change of position of certain leading politicians who have 
 signalized themselves in wielding the destinies of parties in 
 this state ; but it was still believed, by the National Repub- 
 licans, that on a fair trial of strength, notwithstanding the 
 defections which had been witnessed on every side, a hand- 
 some majority would yet be found sustaining an administra- 
 tion of whose measures, irrespective of men, no complaint 
 had been made. But in order to justify such an expecta- 
 tion, it was indispensably necessary that all those opposed 
 to the reigning powers at Albany, should act in concert. 
 No party could shut their eyes to the fact, that, as the Anti- 
 masons had been continuing and extending their political 
 organization through the spring and summer, with great in- 
 dustry and activity, no inconsiderable array of their strength 
 would be found at the polls of the western elections ; and 
 the political influence of that new party was rapidly extend- 
 ing into other sections of the state. Unfortunately, howe- 
 ver, for the National Republicans, the accessions to the new 
 party, were chiefly from their own rtuiks — the more rigid 
 
362 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 party discipline of the Tammany party, being at all time* 
 much better calculated than that of their opponents, to pre- 
 vent desertions. While, therefore, the friends of the then 
 administration, were thus divided by this novel schism of 
 Anti-masonry, the friends of the central power at Albany, 
 having, after two years of considerate balancing upon the 
 neutral ground of non-committalism, determined, in 1827, 
 to sustain the pretensions of General Jackson, — had been 
 reinforced by a portion of the old Clintonians proper, and 
 the disappointed expectants of place, of all parties. 
 
 These circumstances alone would have rendered the po- 
 sition of the National Republicans sufficiently difficult, but 
 there were other peculiarities in the case, which added 
 seven-fold to these perplexities. The great body of the 
 supporters of the administration, and who were in favor of 
 re-electing the President, in opposition to General Jackson, 
 in the old parts of the state, where Anti-masonry was little 
 known, cared not a rush whether the candidates for Gover- 
 nor and Lieut. Governor were Masons or not. But the 
 Anti-masons were determined, not only that their candidates 
 should not be Freemasons, but that they should be Anti- 
 masons : while a large number of our most zealous and 
 worthy political friends, — soundly with us both in state and 
 national politics, — being unrenouncing Freemasons, were so 
 bitterly hostile to the spirit of Anti-masonry, that we anti- 
 cipated, — not without reason, as it proved in the end, — that 
 great difficulties would be encountered in bringing them to 
 act together upon any subject. Still, discordant as were 
 the materials, it was essential to success, that they should 
 be brought to act together. In regard to measures of public 
 policy, however, both state and national, there, was no essen- 
 tial difference of opinion between the Anti-masons and the 
 National Republicans: and hopes were for a long time en- 
 tertained, that an honorable compromise might be effected, 
 which would be mutually satisfactory. 
 
LETTER XXXII. 353 
 
 The Lg Roy Convention of March 6 — 8, had prescribed 
 the 4th of August as the day for holding their state convention 
 at Utica. It was well understood that Mr. Francis Granger 
 would be named as their candidat? for Governor. This 
 gentleman, a son of the former distinguished Post Master 
 General, and inheriting much of his father's genius and po- 
 pular address, by a short and brilliant career in the state le- 
 gislature, had rendered himself a very general favorite 
 among the people. His course in the House of Assembly, 
 upon the Anti-masonic question, had been fair and liberal, 
 and yet so much in favor of the Anti-masons, that they had 
 set their hearts upon his election as Governor. It being al- 
 so well understood that the national administration had no 
 more decided friend than Mr. Granger, in this state, his 
 Anti-masonic friends flattered themselves that the National 
 Republican Party, although at that time out-numbering them 
 in the proportion of nearly foMr to o?ie, would unite with them 
 in that nomination. The position, likewise, of Mr. Granger, 
 as a western man, — living in the richest and most beautiful 
 portion of our state, from whence a Governor had never 
 been selected, — and where he would be supported, as it was 
 supposed, with the greater unanimity, by a western esprit 
 du corps, gave him another advantage. 
 
 Still, it was feared, by the veteran politicians, — for the 
 younger men were generally in favor of Granger, — that he 
 was rather too young a man to be proposed as a candidate 
 for the chief magistracy of the state. His fine talents, and 
 his great personal worth, were universally conceded ; but 
 in addition to his want of years, it was apprehended that he 
 was not yet sufficiently known in the older parts of the 
 state, to command a strong vote for the office of Governor. 
 There were too many important considerations involved in 
 that election, to justify rash experiments. Hence it was 
 deemed advisable to convene an administration convention 
 at Utica, to meet a few days earlier than the day on which 
 
 45 
 
354 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 the Anti-masons had been summoned. The object was 
 neither to discard Mr. Granger, nor to irritate his friends ; 
 but, if possible, to conciliate them by measures, in which, if 
 they were reasonable men, as it was hoped they were, they 
 would acquiesce, — in which event, victory over the com- 
 bined forces, and parti-colored banner of our opponents, 
 would be certain and triumphant. 
 
 For this purpose, it w^as necessary to select a candidate 
 for Governor, standing prominently before the pubUc for his 
 talents and virtues, and who, withal, was no Freemason. 
 By voluntarily making this concession to the Anti-masons, 
 and in connexion with such a candidate, of high and exalted 
 worth, having Mr. Granger for the office of Lieut. Governor, 
 a confident expectation was entertamed, that there might be 
 a thorough understanding, and a perfect coincidence of ac- 
 tion. Exactly such a candidate was found in the person of 
 Smith Thompson — then, as now, one of the firmest pillars 
 of the national judiciary. He w^as most reluctant to allow 
 his name to be used, and never fully gave his consent; — but 
 his long and useful public life,— his great purity of character, — 
 his ripe scholarship, — his eminent services upon the bench 
 of the Supreme Court of this state ; in the cabinet of Presi- 
 dent Monroe ; and in the situation which he yet adorns, — 
 together with the fact that he had never been a Freema- 
 son, — pointed him out as the man, and the only man, who 
 could render the most essential service to his country, in 
 that emergency. Under these circumstances, therefore, he 
 was prevailed upon by the most pressing solicitation of his 
 friends, to allow the use of his name as a candidate for the 
 office of Governor. The National Republican Convention 
 convened at* Utica, on the 23d of August, and with great 
 enthusiasm and unanimity, nominated this gentleman for 
 Governor, and Mr. Granger for the second office of the state. 
 Never was a nomination more cordially received by the 
 party for whose support it was intended, than this, and the 
 prospect of success was tliought to be very fair. 
 
LETTER XXXTI. 355 
 
 The 9th of August speedily came, and with it the Anti- 
 masonic Convention. But instead of showing any disposi- 
 tion to unite upon those nominations, there was a sudden 
 determination to oppose them. It was not enough that 
 Judge Thompson was not a Mason ; they had no evidence 
 that he was an Anti-mason. Nor, if he had been such, 
 would that have been sufficient ; — to be entitled to their sup- 
 port, he must be an Anti-mason, selected and nominated by 
 themselves alone. This convention, therefore, proceeded 
 to nominate an independent ticket for Governor and Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor — naming Francis Granger for the former 
 office, and Mr. John Crary for the latter. Mr. C. very prompt- 
 ly accepted the nomination, although he had indirectly pro- 
 mised to decline, should Mr. Granger do so, and, only 
 two months before, had apparently been among those 
 who were most anxious to have Messrs. Thompson and 
 Granger nominated by the friends of the administration. 
 
 At the time the second nomination was made, Mr. Gran- 
 ger had not accepted the ffi'st ; and all eyes were now turn- 
 ed to the west, to learn the result of his decision. It was 
 still hoped by the National Republicans, that he would choose 
 to abide their nomination, — in which event it was presum- 
 ed the Anti-masons would not think of naming another can- 
 didate, but generally acquiesce in the first nomination. Af- 
 ter nearly a month's consideration, — that is to say, on the 
 30th of August, — Mr. Granger made his election. He had 
 been placed in a very difficult and delicate position, by his 
 friends of both parties ; but at length, in a letter equally cre- 
 ditable to his head and his heart, declined the Anti-masonic 
 nomination for the higher office, and accepted that which 
 had been proftered him first. But the satisfaction of the Na- 
 tional Republicans at this result, was only momentary, and 
 they were soon taught that they might as well attempt to 
 grasp the lightning, or draw out leviathan with a hook, as di- 
 vert the new party from its purposes. The whole mass of it 
 
356 LETTER XXXJI. 
 
 turned their backs upon the previous state nominations, al- 
 most as one man, and nominated Solomon Southwick as a 
 candidate for Governor ! Not that they thought him a pro- 
 per person for that station, — not that there was the remot- 
 est possibihty of his success, — not that they even desired 
 success. But they were angry at having their favorite can- 
 didate taken from them, and this last selection, as they 
 openly told us, was made for the purpose of showing the 
 irrepressible energy, and the indomitable spirit, of Anti-ma- 
 sonry ! 
 
 With the month of September came the Tammany-Jack- 
 son Convention, at Herkimer, at which Martin Van Buren 
 was nominated for Governor, and our present Governor, 
 Throop, for his Lieutenant. Divided as were the friends 
 of the national administration, none was so blind as not to 
 foresee, that the contest for the executive offices of the state, 
 w^as hopeless. Gen. Jackson, how^ever, w^as a Freemason, 
 and Mr. Adams was not, — and hopes were entertained that 
 from this circumstance, the opponents of the former would 
 present an unbroken front upon the presidential election, 
 whatever might be their minor differences. But " unto- 
 *^ w^ard circumstances" seemed to tread each other's heels. 
 Many of the papers then in opposition, with a degree of 
 recklessness but too common in our political controversies, 
 began to insinuate, and soon afterwards boldly to declare, 
 that Mr. Adams was a Freemason, as much so as General 
 Jackson. The natural effect of this assertion was to drive 
 a portion of the Anti-masons back upon their original par- 
 tialities in the presidential contest, regardless of their con- 
 nexion with the new party. To counteract this effect, 
 an individual at Canandaigua who had some time previously 
 written directly to Mr. Adams for information upon that 
 point, now published his reply, although Mr. A. had ex- 
 pressly enjoined his correspondent not to publish it. Un- 
 fortunately, as it proved, though evidently undesigned by 
 
LETTER XXXII. 357 
 
 the writer of the letter, it contained an expression which 
 gave offence to many thousands of those most sensitive of 
 all beings, the acting Freemasons. In stating that he was 
 not a Mason, the writer had simply added, " that he never 
 " should be one." Nor was it very likely, after arriving at 
 his years, that he ever w^'ould, even though Morgan and 
 Anti-masonry had never been known. But all looks yellow 
 to the jaundiced eye ; and although the letter was strictly 
 confidential, and the gentleman to whom it was addressed 
 was positively charged not to publish it, yet the unfortunate 
 expression was greedily seized upon by the party jackalls, 
 for the purposes of mischief, and many were the good men 
 who worked themselves into the belief that they themselves, 
 and the whole masonic fraternity, had been grievously insult- 
 ed ! Certain it is, that the misrepresentation of this very inno- 
 cent affair, had considerable effect in this state ; while it is 
 believed that the vote of Ohio for Gen. Jackson, was justly 
 to be attributed to the masonic indignation kindled there 
 upon the subject of that letter. 
 
 The friends of the administration had yet another misfor- 
 tuae to encounter. Just on the eve of the election, when 
 it was too late to counteract the calumny, a poor wretch 
 in the county of Onondaga, — then the eastern boundary of 
 Anti-masonry, — was induced to charge Mr. Adams with 
 falsehood, in having denied that he was a Mason, and by 
 solemn affidavit to swear that he not only knew to the con- 
 trary, but that he had repeatedly sat in lodges with him, and 
 that even so lately as 1817 or 1818, when, as he averred, 
 Mr. A. had made a visit to Pittsfield, Mass. So high did 
 this profligate witness declare the masonic character of the 
 President to be, that extra lodges were called in his honor, 
 which he attended, the deponent himself being present ! 
 The boldness and particularity of these charges, made un^ 
 der the solemnity of an oath, were appalling. Those ac^ 
 
358 LETTER xxxn. 
 
 quainted with the high and unblemished character of the 
 President, knew that a foul perjury had been comniitted, as 
 the last deperate resort of party ; but among the common 
 people, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to counteract 
 so audacious an imposture. The western country was 
 flooded with hand-bills containing the perjuries of this 
 wretched instrument of political knavery ; and although an 
 express was sent to Pittsfield, and counter-affidavits ob- 
 tained, establishing the falsehood of the tale beyond contra- 
 diction, yet the poison had done much of its work, before 
 the antidote could be applied.* 
 
 Such is a rapid view of the circumstances under which 
 the elections of New- York were held, in November, 1828, 
 when Anti-masonry first took the field as an organized po- 
 litical party, for state and national purposes. In regard to 
 the presidential election, all was done by the National Re- 
 publicans, that, under such circumstances, could reasonably 
 be required of them. They lacked but one of carrying an 
 equal number of the electors, with their opponents, — and 
 that one was lost by a providential occurrence. In the 
 state election, Mr. Van Buren received 136,785 votes ; 
 Judge Thompson, 106,415; and 33,335 votes were madly 
 thrown away upon Mr. Southwick, — by which means Mr. 
 Van Buren came into the executive chair of New- York, 
 by a plurality only. Had the votes given for Mr. South- 
 wick been cast upon Judge Thompson, the political com- 
 plexion of New- York would at the present time have been 
 widely diflTerent. 
 
 This letter may perhaps be considered rather as an epi- 
 sode, than as forming a part of a continuous history ; but 
 
 * Mr. Adams was at Wnshinjrton, in the discharge of liis duties as Se- 
 cretary of State, at the time he was allcdged by the wretched affidavit-ma- 
 ker to have been in Pittsfiekl, in altendance upon the lodges, and, indeed, at 
 tlxat time had never been in that dehjihtful town ! 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 359 
 
 it seems, nevertheless, to be an essential link in the chain, 
 presenting, as it does, a view of the peculiar traits of the 
 Anti-masonic party, as they were then developed,^ and 
 without which its history would not be complete. 
 
 I am, sir, yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXIIL 
 
 New- York, March 10, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 An organized political party, exhibiting, in the first 
 year of its existence, a force of thirty-three thousand and up- 
 wards, and increasing daily, not only by accessions from 
 both of the other parties, (as men became converts to An- 
 ti-masonry from principle, or as the aspiring beheld new 
 paths opening to the foot of " young ambition's ladder,") 
 was not likely to escape the keen observation of the new 
 chief magistrate. The subject of the outrage upon Mor- 
 gan, and the consequent excitement, was, therefore, so- 
 lemnly presented to the consideration of the legislature, 
 in the opening message of the session commencing on the 
 6th of January, 1829. " That an act," said his excellency, 
 " so destructive to the peace of society, and the safety of 
 " its members, should have made a deep impression upon 
 *' the public mind, ought not to surprise us. It would have 
 " been an unfavorable indication of the state of our mor- 
 " als, and our respect for the laws, had it been otherwise. 
 " We have accordingly witnessed an excitement on the 
 *' subject, of great interest and extent, amongst a portion 
 " of our citizens greatly and justly distinguished for their 
 " piety, industry and intelligence. It would not be cxtra- 
 " ordinary if attempts should be made to pervert this honest 
 " indignation of the people, to selfish and sinister purposes. 
 
360 LETTER XXXin. 
 
 " But the character of those who really feel what they pro- 
 " fess on this subject, affords us the best security, that the 
 " success of such unworthy schemes cannot be great, or 
 " of long duration." Governor Van Buren then repeated 
 what his immediate predecessor in the state administration, 
 had said before him, respecting the duty of maintaining 
 the supremacy of the laws, and pledged his best endeavors 
 to pursue the legal investigations of the subject, that the 
 innocent might be relieved from suspicion, and the guilty 
 brought to exemplary punishment. On the whole, the 
 matter was adroitly managed in the message. The origi- 
 nal excitement was justified and commended ; the people 
 engaged in it were flattered ; and the true thorough-going 
 party men were admonished, that it would be unsafe to 
 enlist in that cause, since it could not be of long duration. 
 
 Accompanying the message was a formal report of Mr. 
 Moseley, the special commissioner, rendering an account 
 of his proceedings in executing the difficult trust confided 
 to him by his appointment. After dwelling upon the diffi- 
 culties and embarrassments of the case, Mr. Moseley in- 
 formed the governor, that he had traversed one indictment 
 with success, and had traced Morgan to the magazine of 
 Fort Niagara, where he was in confinement on the 14th 
 of September, 1826. " Here," said the commissioner, 
 " are the boundaries of the testimony. As to his fate sub- 
 " sequently thereto, it is not yet developed ; nor can it be 
 " anticipated, with much confidence, to be judicially deter- 
 " mined, by any tribunal over which men have control." 
 
 That part of the message relating to this subject, togeth- 
 er with the commissioner's report, was referred to a select 
 committee, both in the Senate and Assembly. The com- 
 mittee of the Senate reported on the 14th of February; 
 and in reviewing the whole case presented to their consid- 
 eration, occasion was taken to rebuke his excellency for 
 the implied censure of the political action of the Anti-ma- 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 361 
 
 sons. They declared that the political movements to which 
 the governor had alluded, had been characterized "by 
 " great devotion to principle, and activity and firmness in 
 " pursuit of the objects they had proposed." These move- 
 ments they maintained, had " proceeded so immediately 
 " from the bosom of the people, that the ordinary restraints 
 " of parties and their discipline, together w^ith the efforts of 
 " those politicians who have heretofore inflamed pubUc 
 " opinion, had been laid aside and regarded with utter in- 
 " difference. Satisfied beyond all question, that the evils 
 " inflicted on the state dnd country, by secret, self-created 
 " societies, were a thousand fold greater than any that for 
 " many years past had been conjured up by the devices of 
 " cunning politicians, the people," it was said, " have 
 " sought with wonderful unity of design, of principle and 
 " of eflfort, to destroy, by the peaceful exercise of their 
 " rights at the polls, the^ existence of the masonic, as well 
 ^* as all other secret associations." 
 
 The report of the committee of the House of Assembly, 
 was presented two days afterwards — the 16th. This was 
 a more ample statement than that of the other committee, 
 extending, with the documents annexed, to nearly seventy 
 large pages. In presenting the history of the case, the 
 same ground was necessarily travelled over again, without 
 the discovery of any new facts. The report of Mr. Mose- 
 ley, which had been submitted to the committee with the 
 message, had been received with disappointment by the 
 public, because it was thought the commissioner had not 
 entered so thoroughly into the matter as he might have 
 done, and had not made as many disclosures, or indulg- 
 ed in so many dark speculations, as the public expectation 
 demanded, and the public taste required. Entertaining, 
 perhaps, a common feeling with the people on the subject, 
 the committee addressed letters to the special commission- 
 er, and also to Mr. Wiiiting, the efficient district attorney 
 
 46 
 
362 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 of Ontario, who, as we have seen, had had far the greatest 
 experience in these pecuUar investigations, to know if either 
 of these gentlemen had any farther information in their 
 possession, which could properly be imparted to the legis- 
 lature. Mr. W. wrote a very sensible communication in 
 reply, giving his views of the case, and such an historical 
 synopsis of the proceedings and developements made, as 
 were deemed suitable for the information and consideration 
 of the committee. " Down to this time," said Mr. W., 
 " I am not aware that any proof has been given on the tra- 
 " verse of an indictment, identifying Morgan at Niagara. 
 " It can now be established that he was in the carriage 
 "which passed on the Ridge Road, on the 13th of Sep- 
 " tember. Such is my information from a source in which 
 " I have every confidence. This proof has not been in 
 " our power until very lately. No person who was en- 
 " gaged in the conspiracy at the frontier, except Bruce, has 
 " been convicted. Judgment has not yet been given 
 " against him, by reason of a question of law pending be- 
 " fore the Supreme Court, and which is not yet decided." 
 In regard to the outrage, Mr. Whiting, himself a mason, 
 expressed the following opinion. " The abduction of Mor- 
 " gan is a singular and striking event in our history ; and 
 " as in case of other irretrievable evils, it is easier to la- 
 " ment it than to find a remedy. I have no hesitation in 
 " saying, that it has resulted from the confidence which 
 " members of the masonic society have felt in its power 
 " and influence ; from a false estimate of the nature of that 
 " institution, and from an opinion that they were bound to 
 " preserve it from violation and injury." In conclusion he 
 adds,—" It 5s worthy of remark, that it has been proved 
 " or conceded, that all those who have engaged in these 
 " outrages, were m(^mbcrs of the masonic fraternity, — a 
 "fact not without ni(\'iiiinfr in rcforpnce to the objects of 
 " the conspiracy." 
 
LETTER xxxin. 363 
 
 Mr. Moseley's reply to the committee, was short, and to 
 the purpose. He informed them, in substance, that he had 
 not submitted to the Executive a full report, because, in his 
 opinion, a just sense of propriety would not warrant the 
 publication of facts yet to become the subject of judicial in- 
 vestigation. There were already sufficient difficulties in 
 the way of empannelling juries, and he wished not to in- 
 crease these embarrassments. He informed the committee, 
 however, that since writing his report, he had elicited addi- 
 tional and material testimony in relation to the identity of 
 Morgan, and some precise circumstances that occurred in 
 carrying him off. He had also, he said, been put in pos- 
 session of information of a graver character, from a source 
 entitled to credit. The committee went largely into a dis- 
 cussion of the nature and tendency of the masonic obliga- 
 tions, as they had been disclosed in part by Morgan, and the 
 residue by the Le Roy Convention. These obligations re- 
 ceived their most pointed condemnation. In conclusion, 
 they reported in favor of continuing the office of special 
 commissioner for prosecuting the investigations, and, in or- 
 der to guard against the repetition of similar offences, they 
 likewise reported a bill prohibiting the administering of 
 extra-judicial oaths. The first of these recommendations 
 was adopted by the legislature. The second was not. 
 
 Notwithstanding the abatement of the popular clamor 
 marking the earlier history of the excitement, yet the Anti- 
 masonic feeling was sinking more deeply into the minds of 
 the people, and its influence continued gradually to extend. 
 Nor were the leaders sparing of time or money to sustain 
 the cause in which they had embarked. The result of the 
 preceding elections at the west, had taught them that they 
 had obtained a foot-hold, as a political party, and they were 
 resolved to lay its foundations broad and deep. For this 
 purpose, another state convention had been summoned to 
 meet at Albany, on the 19th of February, "to deliberate 
 
364 LETTER xxxiir. 
 
 " upon, and adopt such measures as might be deemed best 
 " calculated to vindicate the laws of the land from masonic 
 " violence, and to redeem the principles of civil and political 
 " liberty from masonic encroachments." The county meet- 
 ings for selecting delegates to compose this convention, it 
 was wisely considered, would again serve to prevent the 
 public attention from slumbering upon the subject ; and each 
 meeting afforded a fresh opportunity of embodying addi- 
 tional appeals to popular passion and prejudice, in the form 
 of addresses, reports, and resolutions. Nor was the occa- 
 sion left unimproved. At the Genesee Convention held for 
 this purpose, one subject was discussed of a very questiona- 
 ble character. A committee was appointed to inquire 
 whether there was in existence, in those western counties, 
 any monied institution, monopoly, or other aristocratic es- 
 tablishment, which had been, or might be, perverted by 
 masonic influence to political purposes, or to exert an undue 
 influence upon the public mind. This committee reported 
 that the Holland Land Company, whose territory had extend- 
 ed over nearly seven counties, and to which the people, pur- 
 chasing their lands, were yet indebted to the amount of six 
 or seven millions of dollars, was such an aristocratical in- 
 stitution. A resolution was thereupon introduced and adopt- 
 ed, of an inquisitorial character, directing the appointment 
 of a committee of six persons to institute an inquiry, wheth- 
 er the agent of the company was a Mason, — whether the 
 sub-agents and clerks of the land ofllce, were Masons, — 
 whether the patronage of the company was bestowed upon 
 masonic newspapers ; and whether the power and influence 
 of the company was wielded in support of the fraternity 
 generally, and in hostility to the Anti-masons. This com- 
 mittee was hkewise instructed to co-operate with the people 
 of the other counties on the extensive tract of the compa- 
 ny's lands, and, if necessary, to convoke a convention of de- 
 legates from those counties, to take further measures in the 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 365 
 
 premises, should such measures be judged expedient. I am 
 not aware that any serious consequences followed the adop- 
 tion of these resolutions ; but when we consider the delicacy 
 of the relations between landlord and tenant, — between 
 debtor and creditor, — and the extreme excitability of a 
 large population upon such a subject, it cannot be consid- 
 ered otherwise than remarkable, that an inquiry of such a 
 nature should have been set on foot by men of unquestiona- 
 ble character, worth, and intelligence. 
 
 This second state convention of Anti-masons convened at 
 -Albany, on the 19th of February, and held a session of 
 three days. It was most respectably attended — forty coun- 
 ties being represented, by upwards of one hundred mem- 
 bers. The session was a very laborious one, — the printed 
 record of its proceedings extending to forty large and close- 
 ly printed pages. The reports, resolutions and addresses 
 of this assembly were exceedingly well devised to preserve 
 and extend the excitement against Freemasonry. Indeed, 
 the highly respectable gentlemen who composed it, must 
 have partaken largely of the excitement themselves ; for 
 more extensive drafts upon the imagination for facts, were 
 probably never made ; and yet, the character of the body 
 which sent them forth to the public, and of the individuals 
 who affixed their names to them, forbids the supposition 
 that they did not religiously believe all they stated. I might 
 adduce many particulars illustrating the truth of what I 
 have just said, as to the character of these proceedings. 
 But a single instance shall suffice. Among the committees 
 for facilitating the labors of the convention, was one whose 
 duty it was to examine the statute books of the state, and 
 ascertain whether they contained any, and, if any, what, le- 
 gislative enactments, in favor of the Freemasons. This 
 committee reported, with great solemnity, "that in examin- 
 " ing the statute book, they had ascertained that there exist- 
 " ed two public acts of the legislature, on the subject, — the 
 
366 LETTER xxxrri. 
 
 " first, entitled ' An act to incorporate the Grand Chapter of 
 "Uhe state of New- York, passed 31st March, 1818 ;' and 
 " the other, entitled * An act to enable masonic lodges to 
 " * take and hold real estatej for certain purposes therein 
 "'mentioned, passed April 16, 1825.' — both of which were 
 «* extraordinary in their nature, and could have beenprocur- 
 " ed by no less powerful an influence than that which the in- 
 " stitution it incorporates has long possessed, and, it is be- 
 " lieved, exercises, as well in our legislative halls, as in our 
 " courts of justice^ Then followed a long and grave argu- 
 ment, to show the dangers arising from the statutes refei'- 
 red to, and the enactment of which couldnot have been pro- 
 cured but by the « power" and " influence" of all-powerful 
 Masonry. Now it so happens that the writer hereof was a 
 humble instrument in obtaining both of those acts, so " ex- 
 " traordinary in their nature." As to the first, the fact was 
 simply this : a Grand Treasurer of the Grand Chapter, had 
 been a defaulter, having appropriated all the funds in his 
 hands, amounting to the sum of five thousand dollars, and 
 upwards, to his own use. On being called to an account 
 for the default, he offered in payment of the debt, a tract of 
 land, in the vicinity of Albany. But the Grand Chai)ter 
 could not purchase and hold real estate, without an act of 
 incorporation. It was for the purpose of securing that debt, 
 and that alone, that a committee was appointed, of which 
 I had the honor to be chairman, to apply for a charter. I 
 wrote and presented the memorial and bill, and it was pass- 
 ed with but little opposition, and without the least particle 
 of masonic influence, other than a simple statement of facts. 
 The act of 1825 was passed merely to enable a few gentle- 
 men in this city to form a joint stock company, for the erection 
 of the noble Gothic edifice which now adorns a section ol 
 Broadway. I had no personal interest whatever in the ap- 
 plication. But happening to be in the Senate chamber, 
 writing a report of legislative proceedings, one evening 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 367 
 
 daring the session of 1825, 1 heard a member of one of the 
 select committees, which were sitting in consultation upon 
 divers applications, remark, on reading the title of this bilJ, 
 — " Come, let us kill this, and have done with it ;" to which 
 proposition his associates assented. Having some know- 
 ledge of the merits of the question, and there being no friend 
 of the application present, I immediately rose and stated 
 the simple object of the bill ; whereupon the committee, 
 neither of whom were Masons, very readily and cheerfully 
 agreed to report in favor of it, and the bill was passed. 
 Such, sir, and such only, were the objects in view, and the 
 means used, to obtain the passage of those bills. And yet 
 how wonderful the " power" by which they were obtained, 
 and how " extraordinary their nature," — in the eyes of 
 this very respectable convention ! It would be a source of 
 amusement, were the results pertinent to the present inves- 
 tigation, to examine the proceedings of many of these Anti- 
 masonic conventions, and by divesting their statements of 
 the colorings imparted to them by the distempered imagi- 
 nations of their leading members, exhibit them to the pub- 
 lic in the simplicity of truth and innocence. The result 
 would prove many circumstances and transactions which 
 have been the subjects of clamor, to be as unexceptionable 
 as christian man can desire. 
 
 The great object of this convention was to devise ways 
 and means for the more effectual and extensive political or- 
 ganization of the Anti masonic party. With this view, an- 
 other state convention was resolved upon, and it was like- 
 wise determined to convene a national convention of Anti- 
 masons, to meet in Philadelphia, in the summer of 1830. It 
 was further resolved, that the character of Morgan deserv- 
 ed an eulogium, and his services a " storied urn." A series 
 of resolutions were thereupon adopted to raise money to 
 build a monument, and likewise to make a suitable provi- 
 sion for the support of Mrs. Morgan, and the education oi 
 
868 LETT^lR XXXIIl. 
 
 her children. Although neither of these last-mentioned re^ 
 solutions have been carried into effect^ yet they probably 
 
 HAD THEIR EFFECT. 
 
 On the 3d of March — Mr. Moseley having been appoint- 
 ed to the office of Circuit Judge^ in the place of Mr. Throop, 
 elected to the second officd of the state, — Gov. Van Buren 
 sent a special message to the Legislature, announcing the 
 resignation, by Mr. M., of the office of Special Counsel, and 
 the appointment of Mr. John C. Spencer in his place. A 
 more acceptable appointment could hardly have been made. 
 In addition to his high professional ability, his untiring in- 
 dustry, perseverance, and zeal, in any cause he undertakes, 
 and his unbending integrity, afforded an ample guaranty 
 for the faithful performance of the duties devolving upon 
 him by this new and important trust. These anticipations 
 were very speedily realized. Mr. Spencer entered forth- 
 with upon the duties of his office, and in the course of the 
 same month was engaged a number of days in pushing ex- 
 parte investigations preparatory to further proceedings, be- 
 fore the grand jury of the county of Monroe, at Rochester. 
 But his labors were impeded at every step by the obstacles 
 thrown in his way by the members of the fraternity, and 
 their able array of counsel, always at hand. Among a 
 great number of witnesses examined on this occasion, was 
 a Mason named Isaac Allen, who refused to answer the 
 Grand Jury whether a carriage stopped before his door on 
 the 13th of September, 1826, and whether a person applied 
 to him on that day for a pair of horses. He objected, on 
 the ground that the answer might criminate himself. The 
 Grand Jury thereupon went into court, and the question 
 whether the witness should be peremptorily required to 
 answer, was argued by able counsel on both sides. The 
 court decided affirmatively. But the witness persisted in 
 his refusal, and was committed to prison for a contempt. 
 At this term, two bills were found for participation in the 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 369 
 
 conspiracy, viz : against Simeon B. Jewett, an attorney at 
 law, and Burrage Smith. These persons had both been 
 previously indicted, but in a different county. 
 
 Gov. Van Buren having accepted the station of Secreta- 
 ry of State, in the cabinet of Gen. Jackson, resigned the of- 
 fice of chief magistrate of New- York, in a few days after 
 sending the special message above mentioned, and the dis- 
 charge of the executive functions devolved upon Lieuten- 
 ant Governor Throop. This gentleman, it may be recol- 
 lected, had originally acquired considerable popularity with 
 the Anti-masons, by pronouncing it " a blessed spirit" by 
 which they were actuated. On leaving the chair of the Sen- 
 ate, however, for the audience chamber of the state exe- 
 cutive, the now acting Governor addressed the senators at 
 considerable length, and in the course of his remarks, he 
 took occasion to speak somewhat at large upon the subject 
 of Anti-masonry. In regard to the excitement, as he had 
 first known it, the acting Governor declared his opinions to 
 be unchanged. He had himself partaken of that excite- 
 ment, and was yet in feeling with it, while confined to its 
 original and legitimate object. But he could not join them 
 in their proscription of the whole masonic fraternity. He 
 was no Mason, and was opposed to all secret societies ; 
 but he did not believe, " that a society which has enrolled 
 " amongst its members persons of all ranks and conditions, 
 " and many distinguished for piety, for, the purity of their 
 " lives, and devotion to their country, could be founded on 
 " principles tending to subvert all government, or exact 
 " obligations from its members incompatible with their duty 
 " to their fellow-citizens, their country, and their God." In 
 conclusion, he declared his determination that political An- 
 ti-masonry " should meet in him a mild and temperate, 
 
 " BUT A STEADY AND INFLEXIBLE, OPPONENT." From that 
 
 day to the present, there has been " a great gulf between" 
 the x\nti-masonic party and the Executive. The hostility 
 
 47 
 
370 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 has been mutual and ceaseless. Which party will in the 
 end be found most powerful, remains to be seen. 
 
 This letter is already sufficiently long ; but there is one 
 other incident in the regular progress of the history, which 
 requires noticing in this place. The crusade against the 
 whole masonic fraternity, whether innocent or guilty, had 
 been waged with such bitterness and effect, and so heavy 
 was the load of popular odium beneath which its members, 
 without distinction, were laboring, that the most respecta- 
 ble and intelligent portion of the craft at the west began 
 now to see the propriety of yielding to the fury of the 
 tempest, by relinquishing the institution, and resigning the 
 charters of their lodges and chapters. Accordingly, dur- 
 ing the present month of March, a convention of delegates 
 from the several masonic bodies of Monroe county, was 
 held at Rochester. Forty delegates were present, repre- 
 senting lodges, chapters, and an encampment of Templars. 
 After full consideration, it was determined to make a sur- 
 render of the charters of each of the bodies represented, 
 with a view of an ultimate relinquishment of the institution 
 of Masonry altogether. Having come to this resolution^ 
 they published an address to the public, containing a decla- 
 ration of the reasons which had induced the procedure. 
 They wished the public fully to understand, that, in coming 
 to such a decision, they at the same time repelled the idea of 
 a tame submission to the denunciations so prodigally lavish- 
 ed upon them by their opponents. They denied the justice 
 of such denunciations, and invited a free but impartial in- 
 quiry into the reasons by which they were actuated in 
 coming to this determination. These reasons w^ere set 
 forth at large in the address — the duty of good citizens 
 to submit to the voice of public opinion, being regarded as 
 the most efficient of the number. They conceded that an 
 utter disregard of public opinion, when once clearly settled 
 and ascertained, was unwise on the part of the citizen, un- 
 
LETTER XXXIII. 371 
 
 der any form of gorernmont, — that, especially under such 
 a government as we have the happiness to enjoy, a reckless 
 opposition to the confirmed public sentiment cannot be de- 
 fended, — and, that it is not only unwise to treat it with in- 
 difference, but, where no violation of principle is involved, 
 to set it at defiance is to be culpably obstinate. Public 
 opinion, they said, beyond all doubt, unequivocally called 
 for the relinquishment of their masonic rights; and under 
 such circumstances, they held that personal gratification 
 must be made to yield to the higher claims arising out of 
 their relations to society. In regard to the abduction and 
 probable murder of Morgan, they declared, most solemnly, 
 *' that the transaction had been uniformly condemned by 
 " them as an oflfence obnoxious to the principles of Ma- 
 " sonry, to the laws of the country, and to the laws of 
 " God." As it respected the character and principles of 
 Masonry itself, as they had received and understood it, 
 they denied " that there was any thing contained in it im- 
 " moral in its tendency, or in any wise dangerous to either 
 " civil or religious liberty, or opposed to the christian reli- 
 " gion." The address admitted that they had not arrived 
 at this determination to sever all their masonic ties, with- 
 out a considerable effort ; and although there were many 
 others, who, from pride of opinion, or from a repugnance 
 to the adoption of such a course, as it were upon compul- 
 sion, would look with displeasure upon the determination 
 to which they had arrived, yet they exhorted all such " to 
 " remember that there lay before them a wide field for il- 
 " lustrating, practically, that wholesome rule, cherished by 
 " all good men, which enjoined it upon them * to restore har- 
 " * mony to society, when interrupted, if possible.' " 
 
 An impartial observer, knowing little of the previous 
 history of the controversy, or of the feelings which had 
 been engendered on both sides, would have supposed that 
 in coming to this decision, the Masons had conceded all 
 
372 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 that their opponents could have had the conscience to de- 
 sire. Certainly, if the professed, were the only, objects of 
 the Anti-masonic party, — if they were really and truly 
 warring against Freemasonry alone, for the single purpose 
 of procuring its annihilation, — they could require nothing 
 further from the Masons of the county of Monroe. . And 
 had they manifested a disposition to rest satisfied with this 
 general renunciation on the part of those Masons who had 
 thus publicly surrendered their charters, there can be no 
 doubt that the example would have had a powerful effect 
 upon the fraternity, far and wide in the land. But the 
 fact was otherwise. In the course of the address, its au- 
 thors had said, that " they did not think the occasion called 
 " for on elaborate review, nor, indeed, for a serious refu- 
 " tation of all the absurd imputations and extraordinary 
 " charges which had been so industriously arrayed against 
 " the fraternity ; neither was it proposed to indulge in an- 
 " gry rebukes, and bitter sarcasms against the doubtful 
 " motives and unkind passions, which obviously had, and 
 " still did, direct the movements of the master spirits of 
 " the exclusive party styling themselves Anti-masons. 
 " Such a course, although justifiable by the law of retalia- 
 " tion, would not mitigate past evils, and might, perhaps, 
 " aggravate anticipated ones, which they were unaffectedly 
 " anxious to avert." In another paragraph, it was assert- 
 ed by the signers of the address, " that they felt and knew 
 « that they were the proscribed and devoted victims of an 
 " unholy ostracism." This language gave mortal offence, 
 and no sooner was it published, than it was siezed upon 
 by the Anti-masonic papers, and denounced virith as much 
 virulence and acrimony, as though, instead of what it was 
 intended to be, a message of conciliation and peace, it had 
 been a justification of the murder of Morgan, and an order 
 for the death of a hecatomb of additional victims. 
 
LETTER XXXTTT. 373 
 
 There was one unfortunate circumstance connected with 
 this address, affording the Anti-masons a pretext for the 
 course, which, with one accord, they pursued in relation to 
 it. The misfortune through the whole of this controversy 
 has been, that the guilty and the innocent have been con- 
 founded together, and the latter have always been nia.de to 
 suffer for the misdeeds of the former. It was so in the 
 present instance ; for, although among the forty signers to 
 this address we find the names of several of the ablest 
 professional gentlemen of the west, — men of great purity 
 of character and of high moral and religious worth,— men 
 who would no sooner screen others from the punishment 
 due to crime, than they would be guilty of crime them- 
 selves — yet, in the very same list of persons, thus protest- 
 ing with the utmost solemnity against the outrage commit- 
 ted upon Morgan, were several of those known to have 
 been implicated, at least in a knowledge of the conspiracy, 
 before it was consummated, if nothing more. One of 
 these persons had been sent express to New-York, with 
 the purloined manuscripts ; another, was the man into 
 whose hands the money voted for " the western sufferers,'^ 
 as they were called by the Grand Chapter, had been placed 
 for distribution. Beyond a doubt, three fourths of the 
 forty were entirely innocent ; and they, at that time, sup- 
 posed their associates to be innocent likewise. But not so 
 thought the Anti-masons, who had been engaged in the in- 
 vestigations previously made, and yet pending. They knew 
 better ; and of course the surrender of their charters was 
 denounced as being merely a make-believe transaction, and 
 the address pronounced false and hollow.* In regard to 
 the Rochester Chapter and Encampment, both of which 
 had united in disclaiming all knowledge of, or participation 
 in, the conspiracy, and both of which had denounced the 
 
 * In 1830, Jacob Gould, one of the signers of the renunciation in 1829, 
 attested his sincerity by taking his scat in the Grand Chapter, as a member. 
 
374 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 act as oft'ensive alike to the laws of God and man, it was 
 now specifically and boldly declared, publicly, and in so 
 many words, " that that chapter and encampment employ- 
 *' ed and paid a masonic spy, who, as the pretended part- 
 " ner of Miller and Morgan, was nearly two months ma- 
 " luring the conspiracy.* He reported his progress, regu- 
 " larly, to the encampment ; and when the plot was ripe, 
 " they sent some of their members to Batavia, and others 
 " to Canandaigua, to aid in its consummation. Members 
 " of that chapter aided to force their victim into the hack 
 " at Canandaigua, and formed a part of his guard through 
 " the whole route. When the hearts of some of the per- 
 " sons who had met to inflict masonic vengeance upon 
 " Morgan, shrunk from the task, this chapter and encamp- 
 " ment were referred to for further instructions. They de- 
 " spatched one of their members to Fort Niagara. * * 
 « * * # # Some of their members were compelled to 
 " fly, but they have been cherished and supported by those 
 " who remained behind. The outrage was distinctly re- 
 " cognized, by the chapter and encampment, by the fact of 
 " their retaining in their bosoms and fellowship, the men 
 " who committed it. Members of the chapter and en- 
 " campment, when called upon to testify in relation to the 
 ** outrage, have taken false oaths." And these, it was add- 
 led, are the " absurd accusations^^ which the masons, in 
 ,their address, had declared unworthy of a " serious refu- 
 ." tationJ^ Subsequent disclosures, moreover, have shown, 
 that there was too much truth in these charges. But 
 whether true or not, at the time, was immaterial, since 
 there was no resisting such appeals to the popular passions ; 
 and the measure which had been resolved upon by the Ma- 
 sons, right and proper in itself, and unexceptionable in its 
 iHanner, as those who were not Anti-masons would gener- 
 
 * Johns. 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 375 
 
 ally have supposed, entirely failed in its design. The war- 
 fare was prosecuted as vigorously as ever, alike against the 
 just and the unjust — for there was no discrimination among 
 the people, and every mason was believed to stand in all re- 
 spects upon the same footing. 
 
 Having thus failed in the object so sincerely and honest- 
 ly sought to be obtained by the majority of those who pub- 
 lished the address, it is a source of much regret that the 
 effort was made in that quarter, and in the mode in which 
 it was attempted. The scornful manner in which that de- 
 claration was received, has ever since been pointed at by 
 the acting masons in other parts of the country, when they 
 have been urged to terminate the contest by a removal of 
 the cause, as an evidence that the cancelling of charters,, 
 and the relinquishment of the order, will do no good. It 
 is not that, alone, as many of our friends believe, which 
 the opponents of speculative masonry desire : and since 
 what they consider a cruel persecution, — an unconstitution- 
 al proscription, — does not cease with the giving up of a 
 lodge, they insist that they may as well hold on upon their 
 empty titles and gilded trappings to the end. 
 
 I remain, sir, very truly yours. 
 
 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 New- York, March 12, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The exceptions taken to the indictment on which Eli 
 Bruce was tried and convicted at the Ontario Sessions, in 
 August, 1828, having been argued before the Supreme 
 Court, and decided against the defendant, the cause was 
 again brought before the Court of vScssions at its May term, 
 in 1829. Hiram B. Hopkins was called and examined by 
 
376 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 the court, in aggravation of punishment. He was deputy 
 sherifl' of Niagara county under Bruce, and resided with him 
 in the same house — the jail being under the same roof. 
 He testified, that, some six or eight days before the abduc- 
 tion, Bruce directed him to prepare a cell for the reception 
 of Morgan, whom he said he expected there that night. 
 Accordingly the most secret cell was put in order for that 
 purpose. Witness had previously heard that Morgan was 
 to be taken away from Batavia, for revealing the secrets of 
 Masonry, and to be carried to Niagara. He also under- 
 stood that Bruce was concerned in the project. Morgan 
 was to come by the way of Lockport, and be lodged in the 
 cell thus prepared. He had been told that Morgan was to 
 be taken to, or by, Niagara, and put on board a ship of war, 
 for his masonic offence. Witness had made inquiries what 
 he should say, if called on as a witness, and Bruce instruct- 
 ed him that he might truly declare he knew nothing about 
 it, because he had never seen Morgan, in any part of the 
 transactions. Heretofore, witness said he had considered 
 himself bound by his masonic obligations not to make any 
 disclosures. But after he began to apprehend that Morgan 
 had been put to death, he had reasoned and reflected much 
 on the nature and character of those obligations, and now 
 considered himself fully absolved from their longer observ- 
 ance. He had attended the installation of the chapter at 
 Lewiston, on the 14th of September, 1826, and learned 
 while there, that Morgan was confined in Fort Niagara. 
 
 At the same term of the court, came on the trial of John 
 Whitney and James Gillis — both of whom had been long 
 previously indicted for being concerned in the same con- 
 spiracy. Whitney, it will be recollected, had fled to Lou- 
 isiana, with Burrage Smith, soon after the public attention 
 began to be seriously directed to the circumstances of this 
 singular outrage. Smith died at New-Orleans, and, as in 
 the case of Col. King, Whitney had returned voluntarily, 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 377 
 
 after the unsuccessful embassy of Messrs. Garlinghouse and 
 Bates, in pursuit of them. GilHs's name, you may recollect, 
 occurs in a former letter, as having been seen among the 
 kidnappers, at Victor, on the night of Morgan's being taken 
 from Prison. He fled to Pennsylvania ; but had been sub- 
 sequently arrested in Ontario, and held to baiL 
 
 The cases having been called, the special counsel declaim- 
 ed his intention to have the defendants tried together. Gil- 
 lis had pleaded to the indictment, at a former term of the 
 court, but was not now present. Mr. Griffin, of counsel for 
 Mr. Whitney, requested that he might be tried alone ; but 
 the special counsel objected, inasmuch as the cases of the 
 defendants were connected, and also on account of conve- 
 nience to the witnesses, many of whom were from a long 
 distance, and should be allowed to return home with all 
 suitable dispatch. Mr. Sibley, of counsel for GiHis, object- 
 ed to his being tried during his absence. He had attended 
 two or three terms of the court, to take his trial, but then 
 the prosecution was not ready. Living in another state, it 
 was fairly to be presumed that the notice of trial had not 
 reached him. The special counsel replied that Gillis had 
 never been prepared for trial when the people were ready. 
 At the last term of the court he was ready, but, by some fa- 
 tality, the people's important witnesses were not in attend- 
 ance, though they had been subpcenaed, and attachments 
 issued. The witnesses were now attending at great trou- 
 ble and expense. The court remarked that at the previous 
 term, the cause of Gillis was announced as being ready for 
 trial the day before it was to have come on ; but two of the 
 ivitnesses were then discovered to have mysteriously disap- 
 peared, and therefoi^e the people were not ready. It was 
 under such circumstances that the trial had been put off, 
 and the court would not allow another postponement, if the 
 
 special counsel chose to try the defendant in his absence. 
 
 48 
 
378 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 The cause then proceeded — a jury was empannelled 
 without much difficulty, and Mr. Whiting, the Districf At- 
 torney, opened in behalf of the people. The initiatory 
 testimony, relative to the taking of Morgan from the jail, 
 and forcing him into the carriage at Canandaigua, was the 
 same, as in the histories given in all the preceding trials, 
 and mostly from the same witnesses. In regard to the stop- 
 ping of Morgan's mouth with a handkerchief, it was now 
 indisputably proved to have been the act of Chescboro, 
 whose intentions, according to his own deposition, were so 
 very innocent in that matter. The night journey of Loton 
 Lawson to Rochester, on the evening of Morgan's being 
 committed to jail, (September 11, 1826,) was again proved, 
 as formerly, together with his return to Canandaigua, on 
 the morning of the 12th, and the arrival there of John 
 Whitney and Burrage Smith, on the afternoon of that day. 
 The testimony of Ackley, at whose house they stopped in 
 Canandaigua, was on this occasion more full and minute, 
 than on his previous examination. It was now proved by 
 two or more witnesses, that at the time the carriage in 
 which Morgan was taken away, was moving about the 
 street, preparatory to setting off, there was a horse and 
 sulkey standing before the door of Ackley's tavern. Smith 
 was seen in this sulkey a few minutes before the carriage, 
 (having taken up Morgan, and a part of his kidnappers, in 
 the street,) repassed the tavern, on its way to Rochester, 
 The horse and sulkey were driven oft' at the same time. I 
 am thus particular in noting this fact respecting the sulkey, 
 because it is an important circumstance in identifying tiic 
 parties. On the trial of Bruce, it may be recollected, it wa« 
 disclosed that a man, supposed to be Smith, drove up to, and 
 passed, the carriage where it had stopped, about eighty or 
 one hundred rods from Hanford's Landing, and he appear- 
 ed then to the witness, to belong to the pnrty in the carriage. 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 379 
 
 This sulkey will again appear in subsequent trials, as the 
 perplexities of these extraordinary transactions are disen- 
 tangled. Tea was prepared both for Smith and Whitney, 
 at the given hour ; but after waiting some time, Smith not 
 coming in, Whitney took tea by himself. He went out ear- 
 ly in the evening, and did not return. Just before the sul- 
 key was driven away, Lawson came in and borrowed a 
 cloak of Ackley. This garment is mentioned because it 
 will be elsewhere referred to. 
 
 Hiram Hubbard, so often mentioned as the owner and 
 driver of the carriage from Canandaigua to Hanford's, was 
 again called as a witness. On his direct examination he 
 testified in effect, as on former occasions, mentioning two or 
 three additional facts. There were five persons with him 
 in his carriage, of whom he knew neither. He was not ac- 
 companied by a man in a sulkey ; but a man passed him 
 in a sulkey, when two or three miles from Canandaigua. 
 He stopped at the reservoir in front of Beaches tavern, in 
 Victor, hut only for a moment or two ; and this was the only 
 stop he made in Victor. At Hanford's house a man got out 
 of the carriage, and procured a bottle of liquor.* They 
 then drove on, and stopped in a field near some woods, one 
 or two hundred rods from Hanford's. His cross examina- 
 ,tion did not materially vary his testimony. He saw no 
 force, in putting a man into his carriage ; heard no com- 
 plaints on the way ; was told to take his own time in driv- 
 ing ; there were no changes in the number or persons of 
 his passengers on the way ; and when they got out he did 
 not observe that any person was bound. He was engaged 
 to go for this party by Mr. Chauncey H. Coe,one of the stage 
 proprietors at Canandaigua, for whom he frequently did 
 jobs of the kind. He was paid, however, by Cheseboro, 
 
 * Corroborating the testimony respecting the bottle or jug seen by the 
 witness who was watching with the sick man, at Lewiston. 
 
380 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 as has already been stated. Coe testified that he engaged 
 the carriage of Hubbard at the request of Cheseboro. He 
 could not tell how Smith and Whitney left Canandaigua on 
 that evening. They did not go in any regular stage. 
 
 A Mr. Scrantom testified to the fact of Whitney's being 
 in Canandaigua at the time of the abduction. He said to 
 witness, he had come to engage a journeyman stone-cutter, 
 and witness went with him^ to a shop, in quest of one. 
 The workmen were not at home. Witness wished to send 
 a letter to Rochester, and Whitney ofiered to take it, re- 
 questing witness to bring it to the tavern in the course of 
 the evening. He wrote his letter, and went by appoint- 
 ment, but could not find him at that place, or elsewhere in 
 the village. Nor was his name upon the books of any of 
 the stage offices. Whitney had seen witness several times 
 before the trial. In the fall previously, defendant had asked 
 witness how it had happened that Hall, (the jailor,) knew 
 of his having been in Canandaigua on the evening of 
 the outrage. Witness replied that he had mentioned the 
 fact, though rather incautiously, and in sport. Whitney 
 then requested him to recollect the application for a stone- 
 cutter, and the conversation. 
 
 An important witness was now introduced in the person 
 of Mrs. Hanford, the wife of the innkeeper at the Landing, 
 so called. She testified to the carriage calling early in the 
 morning of the 13th, as heretofore related. Two persons 
 came into the house, of whom Hiram Hubbard was one, and 
 called for something to drink. They took a decanter to 
 the carriage, and when they returned with it, drank some- 
 thing themselves. One of them said — "He was damned 
 glad to get out of jail at first !" They appeared to talk sig- 
 nificantly with their eyes. She asked them if they had a 
 prisoner. They replied no, but only a man who had been 
 on the limits. Witness first heard of the abduction of Mor- 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 381 
 
 gan through a statement in the newspapers ; and the mo- 
 ment she saw the account, she was convinced by the cir- 
 cumstances related, that Morgan must have been in that 
 carriage. She went immediately to her husband with the 
 account, and she had endeavored to call to mind the looks 
 of the two persons who came in at that time. Hubbard, 
 she was sure, was one ; but she was not so confident as to 
 Whitney. The person with Hubbard looked like the de- 
 fendant, but was not so delicate in his hands, or his complex- 
 ion. Mrs. Hanford had left that place in April, following 
 the time of which she was speaking — having removed to 
 Pittsburgh, where they had been living two years. When 
 the carriage drove off, the man who came into the house 
 with Hubbard, remained behind, and walked the stoop for 
 some time. There was something in the deportment of the 
 party at the time, that induced her to suppose there was 
 mischief a-foot. Hubbard inquired for oats ; but as there 
 were none in the house, he would not wait to have them 
 brought from the barn, as he said they must drive to Lew- 
 iston that day. 
 
 A man by the name of Gregory, who lived on the Ridge 
 Road, fifteen miles west of Gaines, testified to the fact of 
 meeting the mysterious carriage, on the 13th of September, 
 1826. Elihu Matthew was driving it, and there was a man 
 on the box with him, or in the carriage, who very strongly 
 resembled the defendant, John Whitney. Until witness 
 came to attend the present trial, he had supposed the person 
 implicated by this name, was Whitney the distiller. Wit- 
 ness had lived in Rochester, and although he knew not John 
 Whitney by name, yet he had seen the stone-cutter a hun- 
 dred times ; and it was now strongly impressed upon his 
 mind that the defendant w as the man whom he saw on the 
 coach-box with Mather. He also met Burrage Smith with 
 a horse and sulkey, a little in the rear of the carriage. He 
 
382 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 had Adams's pet horse ; and witness told him he was driv- 
 ing the animal too hard. Smith replied — " no matter — the 
 concern is able to pay for it." 
 
 Levi W. Sibley, a musician from Rochester, who attend- 
 ed the installation at Lewiston, on the 14th of September, 
 proved that both Smith and Whitney were at Lewiston on 
 the morning of the 14th, between 8 and 9 o'clock. Wit- 
 ness went thither in the steam-boat from Rochester. Smith 
 and Whitney returned with them in the boat, on the eve- 
 ning of the installation. Neither of them went up in the 
 boat. In descending the river, the boat stopped at Youngs- 
 town, and Smith and Lawson stepped on shore, — asking 
 the captain if there would be time for them to go up to the 
 fort. The reply was in the affirmative, if they would go 
 quick. On returning to the boat, they came from the direc- 
 tion of the fort. 
 
 The Rev. Francis H. Cuming, (then of Rochester,) deli- 
 vered the address at the installation. He saw Smith and 
 Whitney there. He went to Lewiston in the stage, and 
 neither of those persons went with him. 
 
 The partner of the defendant (Whitney,) in the stone- 
 cutting business, proved that he left Rochester, in the win- 
 ter after Morgan's abduction, without apprising him of his 
 intention of so doing. He went away without settling his 
 affairs, or arranging their business ; and without making any 
 provision for the support of his family during his absence. 
 He returned in September, 1828. 
 
 A number of witnesses were successively examined re- 
 specting the circumstances attending the journey of the 
 closed carriage along the Ridge Road, but they testified to 
 no new fact of consequence. A young man named Aid- 
 rich, was next called upon the stand, but objections to his 
 being sworn were raised by the counsel for the defence, 
 wpon the same principles on which the testimony of Ed- 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 383 
 
 Ward Giddi'ngs had been excluded, on the trial of Eli 
 Bruce, in the preceding August. It was proved, on the one 
 hand, that in a conversation respecting the exclusion of 
 Giddings, Aldrich had repeatedly declared that his own be- 
 lief was the same. He did not believe in any future punish- 
 ment^ and would not change [his principles for the sake of 
 being a witness. On the other hand, the prosecution prov- 
 ed that he had professed correct religious notions until he 
 was 18 years old, — that he was now about 24, — and that he 
 was a universalist, believing in punishment for sin in the 
 present world, but not in the future. The question of his 
 admissibility, under such circumstances, was very ably ar- 
 gued on both sides. Judge Howell afterwards stated, that 
 there were great and increasing difficulties arising upon 
 these questions. The court adhered to the decision in the 
 case of Giddings; but a majority of the bench now doubted 
 whether the case of Aldrich could be brought within that 
 rule. He therefore cheerfully acceded to the opinion of 
 his two associate judges, and would permit the witness to 
 be sworn. The opinion of the court was then called for 
 on the second point, viz : the necessity of a belief in future: 
 rewards and punishments. Judge Howell, in reply^ said 
 that he now concurred in the opinion of Chancellor Wal- 
 worth, disagreeing with the doctrines heretofore maintained 
 by the Supreme Court. The present Supreme Court, he 
 stated, had also adopted the opinion of Chancellor Wal- 
 worth. The witness was then sworn. 
 
 He lived in Dr. Beach's tavern, in Victor, at the time 
 Morgan was carried off. At about 12 o'clock at night, on 
 the 12th of September, he heard a carriage driving as he 
 thought, up to the house. Being in bed, he rose, and look- 
 ing out, saw the carriage a little beyond. Witness went 
 down to the bar, as somebody knocked, desiring to come in 
 to obtain somethino-^) drink. lie had seen two or thrce^ 
 
384 LETTER XXXI\% 
 
 persons standing by the door, and on opening it, both the 
 defendants, James GilHs and John Whitney, entered and 
 called for a bottle of liquor. He gave them a decanter of 
 gin, which they took out of doors, — Gillis offering a three 
 dollar bill in payment, which witness could not change. 
 Gillis then promised to pay it in the morning, when the de- 
 canter should be returned. Witness knew Smith and 
 Whitney well, having lived at Rochester, and believed that 
 he saw Smith with Whitney, on the steps. A sulkey was 
 there, and Dr. Beach called up the ostler to bring out a 
 horse to put into it. The party went off, and he saw no 
 more of them. The horse taken for the sulkey, was re- 
 turned the next day, by the stage from Rochester. This 
 testimony, it will be observed, essentially contradicts Hub- 
 bard's evidence on the former trials, and by inference upon 
 the present. 
 
 Two witnesses were successively examined, who proved 
 that about the same time of night, a carriage drove up to 
 the house of Enos Gillis, — a brother of James, who lived 
 a few rods farther on their route than Beach's. The cur- 
 tains of the carriage were down, and it was turned I'ound 
 and driven through the gate, into Mr. Gillis's yard. It re - 
 mained there some 20 or 30 minutes, and when driven 
 away several persons accompanied it on horseback. One 
 of these witnesses saw James Gillis, the defendant, near the 
 carriage, while standing thus in the back yard. If this was 
 the carriage, of which there can be no rational doubt, Hub- 
 bard is again explicitly contradicted, upon a point where 
 an honest mistake was impossible. As to Gillis, the defen- 
 dant, another witness proved his returning, on the following 
 day, mounted on his brothers horse. He said he had been 
 to Rochester, and seven or eight miles beyond ; and that he 
 came from Canandaigua, to his brother's house, on the pre- 
 ceding evening, in an extra carriage. U, again, it was 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 3^ 
 
 Hubbard's carriage that he came in, of which there is no 
 doubt, then Hubbard was again contradicted. The prose- 
 cution was here rested. 
 
 The first important witness called by the defence, was Eli 
 Bruce. He testified, that he was first informed that Mor- 
 gan was coming on the Ridge Road, on the evening of the 
 13th of September, by Burrage Smith, and another person, 
 now five hundred miles off, whose name he refused to give. 
 About six or eight days before that time, a gentleman call- 
 ed and requested him to proceed to Batavia, to take Mor- 
 gan away. It was stated that difficulties existed between 
 Morgan and Miller, and that the former would. go away 
 willingly. Being sheriff* of the county, and not wishing to 
 involve himself in any trouble, he declined the proposal. 
 At about the same time, Orsamus Turner called on him, 
 requesting that an apartment might be fitted up for the re- 
 ception of Morgan in the jail. He stated that Morgan was 
 expected there that night, on his way to Canada, and had 
 consented cheerfully to go away.* Witness was asked to 
 go to Wright's tavern, on the Ridge Road, where Morgan 
 was said to be, — he having, as before related, been driven 
 with the carriage, into Wright's barn. Witness inquired if 
 there was any trouble, declaring that he wished not to be 
 involved in any. On his arrival at Wright's, which was 
 about 9 or 10 o'clock, he found Morgan there. They then 
 proceeded to Lewiston, and thence down to Niagara ; David 
 Hague, now dead, and Morgan, being the only persons in 
 the carriage from Wright's to Lewiston. He was not at 
 this time acquainted with John Whitney. At or near the 
 gate beyond Wright's, a person passed them on horse-back, 
 whom he knew, but did not give the name. Morgan was 
 not bound, but only a handkerchief placed over his eyes 
 
 * This was on the 8th — at the time of Sawyer's expedition to Batavia, 
 which failed. The project then was, to have carried Morgan direct to Lock* 
 port. The Canandaigua movement was a distinct plot. 
 
 49 
 
386 LETTER XXXIV. 
 
 to prevent his seeing who were with him. On leaving the 
 carriage near the Niagara biirying-ground, they proceeded 
 to the ferry near the fort, and crossed over into Canada, — ■ 
 where Morgan was to have been put upon a farm. Morgan 
 did not get out of the boat on the Canada side ; and as the 
 Masons there were not ready to receive him, — their ar- 
 rangements for his reception not being completed, — he 
 was brought back to the American side, and placed in the ma- 
 gazine of the fort, to await the preparations in Canada. When 
 Morgan got out of the carriage, he locked arms with Hague, 
 and another gentleman who joined them at Youngstown.* 
 Morgan conversed with Hague, — there was no liquor in the 
 carriage, — and he did not seem to be enfeebled. He thought 
 he was among friends. Witness left the fort before day- 
 light, on the morning of the 14th; had never seen Morgan 
 since, and knew not what was done with him. Wright's 
 tavern was three miles from the residence of Bruce at 
 Lockport, at the intersection of a road from the latter place 
 with the Ridge Road. Witness saw several persons whom 
 he knew at Weight's; and at the installation, a stranger 
 was pointed out to him as John Whitney. To a question 
 as to whose charge Morgan had been left in at the maga- 
 zine, the court would not suffer the witness to reply — upon 
 the ground that no persons but those upon trial, should be 
 implicated. For the same reason, also, the court would not 
 allow the names of those who had crossed in the ferry-boat 
 to be given. The project of taking Morgan away, witness 
 said, was not concerted in the Royal Arch Chapter in Lock- 
 port, although it might have been talked over incidentally, 
 in a desultory manner, by the members, but he could not re- 
 member specifically the time. The next day after the in- 
 stallation witness rode back from Lewiston to Lockport in 
 a sulkey. He knew not how Smith went to Lockport, nor 
 
 ♦ Col. King. 
 
LETTER XXXIV. 887 
 
 how the sulkey came there, but understood that it was to be 
 sent home. He supposed it belonged eastwardly, and that 
 the horse attached to it was owned somewhere on the 
 Ridge, but if he had ever known, he had forgotten by whom 
 it was owned, or whither he was to send it. Such is a 
 faithful analysis of the testimony of Eli Bruce, on his first 
 examination as a witness. 
 
 Joseph Garlinghouse, called by the prosecutor, testified, 
 that he was commissioned by Governor Clinton to pursue 
 Smith and Whitney, for which purpose he started in Au- 
 gust, 1827, and proceeded to Louisville, in Kentucky — 
 from which place they had been gone about three weeks — 
 Smith to New Orleans, and Whitney to St. Louis. His 
 authority to arrest them did not extend beyond Kentucky, 
 and he was obliged to abandon the pursuit. Whitney had 
 since stated to witness that he was at the time engaged in 
 settling some important business afiairs with a brother-in- 
 law, who had left his wife ; and the knowledge of his ar- 
 rival in that region, in pursuit, had given his said brother- 
 in-law an opportunity of taking the advantage, by which 
 circumstance, he, [Whitney,] had lost a thousand dollars. 
 
 Nicholas G. Cheseboro, called for the defence, swore, 
 that he did not know Whitney in the transactions on the 
 night of the 12th, at, Canandaigua, nor did he now recog- 
 nize him as one of those engaged with them on that occa- 
 sion. Nor did. he recollect having seen Gillis there on 
 that evening. 
 
 The cause lasted three days. It was summed up with 
 great ability by the counsel on both sides, and committed 
 to the jury by a brief charge from Judge Howell. The 
 jury retired at 10 o'clock at night, and returned a few 
 minutes before 12, with a verdict of GUILTY against 
 John Whitney, but in regard to the other defendant, Gillis, 
 they could not agree, and were discharged. Whitney was 
 sentenced to an imprisonment in the county jail, of one 
 
588 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 year and three months ; and Eli Bruce to the same punish- 
 ment for two years and four months. " During the whole 
 " term of his imprisonment, he was visited by Freemasons 
 " from every part of the United States, who repaired to 
 " his cell as that of a martyr suffering for the conscientious 
 " discharge of some high and imperative duty. Notwith- 
 " standing the atrocity of his guilt, so clearly established by 
 " the testimony of his deputy and his own evidence, yet 
 " crowds daily thronged around him, testifying their sym- 
 " pathy and their respect. Every comfort that the laws 
 •»* would allow was provided for him ; and even ladies of 
 *' character waited upon him in person, with delicacies pre- 
 " pared by their own hands. The same jail has often con- 
 " tained Freemasons, imprisoned for debt, who were never 
 " cheered by the visits, or solaced by the sympathy, of their 
 « brethren." 
 » Very respectfully yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 New- York, March 14, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 During the same spring a trial took place in the coun- 
 ty of Genesee, connected with this subject, which excited 
 some interest in that immediate neighborhood, though 
 scarcely heard of abroad. Those who have only listened 
 to the murmurings of the Anti-masonic excitement at a dis- 
 tance, without actually witnessing, or feeling, the force of 
 the storm, will hardly believe it possible, that at the pre- 
 sent day, a case of the kind of which I am about to^^speak, 
 could have occurred. Ten years hence, if the fact should 
 be left unrecorded, it would not be credited for an instant. 
 The cajsQ was this : During the first wild tumult of tlie ex- 
 
LETTER XXXV. 389 
 
 citement, in 1827, in the delirium of their success at the 
 town elections, the project was broached of excluding the 
 name of every member of the masonic body from the ju- 
 ry box. The revised laws of the state gave the Anti-ma- 
 sons the power to do so, in all those towns in which they 
 had been successful, — it being the duty of the supervisor, 
 town clerk, and assessors of the several towns, annually to 
 transmit to the clerks of their counties respectively, an al- 
 phabetical list of the names of all persons in the said 
 towns, qualified and of sufficient understanding to serve as 
 jurors. It is likewise by that act made the duty of those 
 officers, annually to return a like list to the county 
 clerks, of all persons, so previously returned as qualified 
 jurors, but who have since died, removed out of the coun- 
 ty, or become otherwise disqualified, — and the slips of pa- 
 per containing the names of persons so returned, are to be 
 taken from the jury box by the county clerk and destroy- 
 ed. Those returns are transmitted by the town clerks to 
 the clerks of the counties. It was under the provisions of 
 this act, that the officers of the town of Bethany, in the 
 county of Genesee, determined to exercise their brief au- 
 thority against the Masons ; and some of the most pious 
 and respectable citizens of that town were put under tha 
 ban of exclusion, and so far disfranchised as to be returned 
 to the county clerk as " disqualified." The duty of this 
 officer was not discretionary; and the names of the unof- 
 fending Masons of Bethany were withdrawn, and the slips 
 whereon they were written, destroyed. It may well be 
 supposed that among a people no less free than jealous of 
 their rights, such an outrage upon their civil privileges 
 would not be patiently or quietly submitted to, A com- 
 plaint was preferred to the grand jury against the town 
 clerk of Bethany, as the agent in the transaction, and he 
 was indicted, much to their credit, even by an Anti-mason-, 
 ic grand jury. The indictment was tried at the court of 
 
390 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 Oyer and Terminer held at Batavia, in April, 1829. " It 
 " appeared in evidence that those returned as disqualified 
 " jurors were freeholders, and it was admitted by the de- 
 " fendant's counsel, that they were men of understanding, 
 " of intelligence and integrity ; it was also admitted that 
 ** they were returned as disqualified because they were Ma- 
 " sons. It appeared in evidence that great excitement pre- 
 " vailed in Bethany at that time, and that the exclusion of 
 " Mason from juries was frequently talked of, and generally 
 " conceded to be correct and proper. It appeared also by 
 *' one witness that the town clerk wms told that if he did 
 " not take care of their interest, (the Anti-masons) they 
 " would take care of him. The defendant, however, was 
 " proved to be a man of integrity and candour, and it was 
 -*' abundantly shown that he acted by the advice and coun- 
 " sel of others, and apparently with a view conscientious- 
 *' ly to discharge his trust. The court charged the jury, 
 ** that although the defendant had grossly mistaken his du- 
 ** ty, they did not think there was evidence enough to show 
 " that he acted corruptly. They also charged that the de- 
 ** fendant could not be convicted on the indictment, be- 
 " cause he acted merely as the clerk of the board of in- 
 " specters in making the return." The court, therefore, 
 advised the jury to acquit the defendant, which was accor- 
 dingly done. The foregoing quotation is from Brown's His- 
 tory — a work which is in general too partial to allow much 
 reliance to be placed upon it, in matters of opinion ; but 
 in the present case I am free to adopt the author's commen- 
 tary, when he declares his conviction " that the returning 
 " of Masons as disqualified jurors was in violation not on- 
 « ly of the letter but of the spirit of the law. In criminal 
 ^ cases, however, the intention constitutes the sole criterion 
 >* of guilt. Some palliating circumstances were proved on 
 " the part of the defendant, and it was, therefore, upon the 
 f* whole perhaps right that he should have been acquitted ; 
 
LETTER XXXV. 391 
 
 " still it was equally proper that he should have been ar- 
 " raigned at the bar of his country for an act sanctioned 
 " neither by law nor justice, and which could not be done 
 " without trampling upon both.'' 
 
 The irritation arising from attempts like the foregoing, ta 
 oppress the Masons — without reference to their guilt or in- 
 nocence in the Morgan outrage, — was enough to render 
 the society of any neighborhood sufficiently unpleasant ; 
 but the most unhappy consequences resulting from the ex- 
 citement to the social relations of the people, were connect- 
 ed with the institutions of religion. A very considerable 
 number of the clergy, of different sects, belonged to the 
 masonic institution. Various circumstances had conspired 
 to bring them into the lodges. The Masons, themselves, 
 courted the fellowship of the clergy, to increase their own 
 respectability, by acquiring a more sober and hallowed 
 character than the world were disposed to allow them to 
 possess ; for which purpose the Grand Lodge, several years 
 since, authorised their gratuitous admission. Such a re- 
 gulation in their favor, was naturally flattering to them ; 
 their curiosity respecting the supposed mysteries of the or- 
 der, was as easily excited as with other people ; and it was 
 very natural for them to suppose that by joining themselves 
 to the fraternity, they might increase their own usefulness 
 in the cause of their master. But the opponents of the Ma- 
 sons for a long time knew of no distinctions ; and the divine 
 in the pulpit, with his deacons at the altar, if they had ever 
 attached themselves to the proscribed order, were as likely 
 to be scorched by the burning zeal directed against the 
 craftj as the humble tylcr with his drawn sword at the door 
 of the lodge-room. The fiercest contentions arose in local 
 churches ; clergymen were dismissed, or compelled to re- 
 sign their pastoral charges ; fellow-members of churches 
 refused to partake of the sacred elements of the supper at 
 the same table ; and, in one instance, a clergyman bearing 
 
392 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 the curse of Freemasonry, was personally assaulted in th^:^^ 
 pulpit. From single churches, the spirit of proscription^^* 
 entered many ecclesiastical bodies, threatening to produce 
 a wider field of spiritual disunion and desolation. 
 
 In these measures, I am constrained to say that the Bap- 
 tists, long ranking among the most unassuming and most 
 tolerant of modern religious sects, took the lead, by the 
 adoption, at the Genesee Consociation held in June, 1828, of 
 a declaratory resolution, " that they would neither license, 
 " ordain, or install, those who sustain any connexion with 
 " the institution of Masonry, or who will not disapprove and 
 " renounce it ; nor would they give letters of recommenda- 
 " tion in favor of such persons to preach in any of the church- 
 " es in their connexion." This resolution called forth a re- 
 ply, in a printed letter of twenty pages, by the Rev. Joseph 
 Emerson, of Connecticut, a member of the same denomina- 
 tion of religionists, which a judicious friend would never 
 have advised him to make public ; — for although the wri- 
 ter spoke many truisms, and said sundry sensible things, yet 
 he was clearly ignorant of the actual facts of the case in the 
 western part of New- York. He knew not what a load of 
 guilt had been incurred by a portion of the fraternity in 
 that section of country, which was then pressing the insti- 
 tution to the earth. Nor, had he been ever so well inform- 
 ed, was he the Hercules to remove the burden. His letter, 
 in fact, was such as might have been expected from a fanci- 
 ful sophomore, just »' brought from darkness to light," who 
 had neither searched backwards for the history of the or- 
 der, nor looked forward to consequences. The effect was 
 obvious. The Consociation put forth a reply which not 
 only shivered his lance into splinters, but, from the mildness 
 of its tone, and the unpretending ability with which it was 
 written, while it left their assailant hors du comhaU gave 
 them an advantage in the argument in favor of their resolu- 
 tion-, which they would not otherwise have possessed. 
 
LETTER XXXV. 393 
 
 Other ecclesiastical bodies in the same connexion, followed 
 the example, and among them the Baptist Association, sit- 
 ting in the same year, as I believe, in the county of Sarato- 
 ga. A clergyman, by the name of John Lamb, was exclu- 
 ded from the Baptist Church in Waterford, for being a Free- 
 mason ; and the difficulties arising upon the subject in that 
 religious community, continued down to the last year, at 
 which time an ecclesiastical council was held to consider of 
 the matter. The publications of the parties lead me to sup- 
 pose that much ill blood had been excited, and kept in quick 
 circulation, in reference to this subject, during the whole 
 period since the excommunication of Mr. Lamb. In Octo- 
 ber, 1829, the Baptist Conference for the state of New- 
 York, held a session at Whitesborough, in the county of 
 Oneida. At this meeting Freemasonry was a leading topic 
 of discussion, and a resolution was adopted declaring it to 
 be the duty of every member of a christian church, who 
 was a Freemason, to dissolve his connexion with that insti- 
 tution ; but excusing such members from disclosing mason- 
 ic secrets, or avowing any opinions as to the character or 
 tendency of Masonry. This resolution gave high dissatis- 
 faction to some of the Baptist associations in the western 
 part of the state ; and the association of Chautauque county, 
 in September last, published a strong address and protest 
 against so lenient a resolution. Nothing short of a require- 
 ment of unqualified renunciations, in such cases, would sat- 
 isfy those western churches. In the Baptist Association of 
 this part of the state, the principle of the Whitestown Con- 
 
 , ference seems to have been extended, and all members of 
 the church, who would not renounce visiting the lodge-room, 
 were excluded from the sacramental rites of the religion 
 they professed. I do not know that in this city there was 
 
 ^,any occasion to enforce the regulation, but such a principle was 
 
 adopted, and is yet a rule of action wiul that denomination. 
 
 50 
 
394 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 The Associated Reformed Synod of New- York, at a 
 meeting in Newburgh, in 1830, likewise took up the subject 
 of Freemasonry, and unanimously adopted resolutions ex- 
 pressing their decided disapprobation of the principles and 
 usages of Freemasonry, warning their people against all 
 connexion with the institution, and enjoining it upon all 
 church sessions under their inspection, to adopt efiective 
 measures " to remove the contamination from their church- 
 " es." But as this branch of the christian church is descen- 
 ded from the Scots, their ecclesiastics find a sufficient war- 
 rant for this procedure in the annals of their own denomi- 
 nation. So long ago, even, as 1757, the Associate Synod of 
 Scotland passed an act, after great deliberation, requiring 
 the church sessions under their charge to make diligent 
 investigation among their people, to ascertain whether any 
 of them had taken the masonic oaths. All persons who 
 should be found to have received them, were required to 
 renounce ; and unless they did so, and expressed contrition 
 for what they had done, they were " to be reputed under 
 " scandal, incapable of admission to sealing ordinances, till 
 " they answer and give satisfaction as before appointed." 
 The sessions were moreover directed " to proceed unto 
 " higher censure, as they shall see cause, in the case of per- 
 "sons whom they may find involved in the said oaths, 
 " with special aggravation, as asking or relapsing into the 
 " same, in opposition to warnings against doing so." 
 
 In regard to the Presbyterian Church, and the cognate per- 
 suasion of orthodox Congregationalists, I have seen but a 
 single case of a positive inhibition of the sacramental ele- 
 ments to those professors who should refuse to relinquish 
 their Masonry.* In the year 1828 or '29, the synod of Gen- 
 
 * It is proper lo state, however, that opposition to Masonry did not s1ioa\- 
 itself for the first time in tlic Pre.sl)yt<Mi;in Church of the United States, ut- 
 ter the Morgan outruoe. A strong report against the masonic institution, 
 was made in 1820, in the synod of the Presbyterian Chnith, assembled at 
 
LETTER XXXV. 395 
 
 esee recommended the withdrawal of their church members 
 from the institution, but did not insist upon such an act, or a 
 formal renunciation. A declaration in the following words 
 was, however, recommended to the consideration of the 
 christian brethren : — " I cheerfully make known for the 
 " satisfaction of my christian brethren, that I have discon- 
 *' tinned all connexion with the institution of Freemasonry, 
 " and intend to remain so disconnected during my life ; and 
 " that I recognise no obligations devolving on me in conse- 
 " quence of masonic oaths, as binding me to do or counte- 
 " nance any thing which is not in accordance with the mo- 
 " rality of the gospel, and the laws of the land, as common- 
 "ly understood among my christian brethren." Church 
 difficulties having arisen in the state of Vermont, in 1830, 
 upon this subject, and attempts having been made to ex- 
 clude adhering Masons from their christian rights and pri- 
 vileges, a large ecclesiastical council of clergymen with 
 their delegates was convened at Danville, in that year. 
 Their proceedings were marked with mildness and wisdom. 
 They refused excluding their masonic brethren from the 
 rites of the church, but advised them to cease attending 
 lodges, although they might not choose formally to re- 
 nounce ; and they also recommended the adoption of a de- 
 claration, after the form of the synod of Genesee. But the 
 series of resolutions adopted by that council, breathe the 
 genuine spirit of Christianity — that spirit " which suftereth 
 " long, and is kind." 
 
 The Rochester Presbytery, however, forming the excep- 
 tion made above, early in the year 1829 published various 
 considerations with a view to remedy present evils, and 
 prevent future ones, which required the " ministers and 
 
 Pittsburgh. Long and animated debates arose upon the subject, and its 
 consideration was,postponed until another year, when it was renewed. The 
 craft, however, treated the attack with a degree of indifference bordering 
 upon contempt, and the report was never adopted. 
 
396 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 " members'^ of the respective churches under their im- 
 mediate charge, " absolutely to dissolve their connexion 
 " with Freemasonry, and explicitly to signify the same to 
 " their christian brethren." One of their reasons for re- 
 sorting to this measure, is stated to be " the well-known 
 " instances of the employment of Freemasonry as an instru- 
 ** ment of evil and designing men, in the history of Illu- 
 " minism." In saying this, they -spoke without credible au- 
 thority, as I have already shown in my eighth letter. But 
 this error is not very material ; while it is but justice to re- 
 mark, that the general tone and scope of the address pub- 
 lished by the Rochester Presbytery, was worthy of much 
 praise. In one of their propositions they distinctly state, 
 that while " they wish their christian brethren to withdraw 
 *' from the institution, they by no means give their counte- 
 ** nance to those methods of renouncing Freemasonry that 
 " involved a breach of fidelity, or a violation of oaths, or 
 " other pledges of confidence, by which masonic brethren 
 " may have bound themselves." They also enjoined it up- 
 on their churches to make no hasty decisions, or rash ex- 
 communications ; and indeed the whole address was tem- 
 pered by that mild and benignant spirit which is every 
 where breathed in the tolerant doctrines of Christianity. 
 
 But to illustrate still further, the extent, and the depth of 
 feeling, that came at last to prevail among the religious com- 
 munity at the west upon this subject, I can state, that large 
 public meetings of professors of religion of different deno- 
 minations, were repeatedly held, for the purpose of consult- 
 ing upon the moral qualities and tendency of Masonry, and 
 the measures proper and expedient to be adopted in rela- 
 tion to it. Ihavd now before me the printed proceedings 
 of a large united meeting of this description, held in the 
 county of Oneida, on the 14th of January, 1830, the mea- 
 sures adopted at which were of the most decisive charac- 
 ter. Several members rose in the meeting, denouncing the 
 
LETTER XXXV. 397 
 
 institution, and then and there renouncing it. Resolutions 
 were adopted pronouncing it to be the duty of all profes- 
 sors of religion to withdraw, and declaring that unless they 
 did so, it would be the duty of christian professors to with- 
 draw the hand of fellowship from them. They likewise re- 
 solved that the masonic institution was an obstacle to the 
 spread of the gospel, and that its entire overthrow must 
 precede the universal emancipation of the world from error 
 and sin. And finally, " a special day of solemn fasting, 
 " humiliation, and prayer, on account of the existence of 
 " Masonry in the church, and for the guidance and direc- 
 " tion of Almighty God, upon the manner in which it is to be 
 " treated," was appointed and set apart. 
 
 But notwithstanding the flow of pure christian feeling 
 which characterizes the most of their proceedings, — and I 
 have only referred to a few instances, as specimens of ma- 
 ny more, — I cannot persuade myself but that they were all 
 entirely wrong in principle. As to the worldly govern- 
 ment of a church, its members, or the governing ecclesias- 
 tical power, have an undoubted right to prescribe terms, the 
 same as in other voluntary compacts. So, also, as to the 
 leading doctrines of faith and practice. But in rogard to 
 the heart and the conscience, every- man must judge and 
 act for himself. Nor can any requirements be exacted, go- 
 ing beyond those prescribed by the Great Head of the 
 Church himself. Theology, however, does not properly 
 appertain to this discussion, — and I cheerfully dismiss this 
 branch of my subject, with the expression of my hearty de- 
 sire^ that there may hereafter be found too much wisdom on 
 all sides to allow any section of the christian church ever 
 again to be disturbed by such a question. 
 
 1 am very respectfully, yours. 
 
398 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 LETTER XXXVI. 
 
 New- York, March 16, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 Under the conduct of Mr. Spencer, great activity was 
 manifested in the legal investigations of the conspiracy dur- 
 ing the summer of 1829. In the county of Genesee, all 
 efforts to procure indictments for the conspiracy and ab- 
 duction, had hitherto proved unavailing, although, as we 
 have already seen, there had been indictments, trials, and 
 convictions for the outrages upon Miller. The special 
 counsel was however determined not again to be foiled in 
 his attempts to discover the persons in Genesee, who had 
 been engaged in the conspiracy against Morgan. At the 
 June term of the General Sessions, therefore, Eli Bruce was 
 brought, on a habeas corpus, from the jail of Ontario, to tes- 
 tify before the grand jury of Genesee. One of the stand- 
 ing counsel of the persons indicted in other counties, was 
 in attendance, howeveV, and while Bruce was on his way 
 to the jury room, this gentleman placed a letter in his hands. 
 The consequence was, that on being brought before the 
 grand jury, he positively refused to be sworn as a witness, 
 and persisted in his refusal. A large body of Masons had 
 collected on the occasion, and Bruce was highly compli- 
 mented for his constancy and fidelity to the craft. But nu- 
 merous other witnesses were examined, and indictments 
 were found against William R. Thompson, the sheriff, Na^ 
 than Follett, Blanchard Powers, and William Seayej,-^1 
 of whom were respectable citizens. ' • '*• * 
 
 In July, a Court of Oyer and Terminer was held in Nia- 
 gara county, at which term it was intended to bring on the 
 
LETTER XXXVI* 399 
 
 trial of the indictments in that county. But the cases were all 
 removed by the defendants, by certiorari, into the Supreme 
 Court. The examinations were resumed before the grand 
 jury, but no additional facts seem to have been elicited. 
 James Mather was examined as a witness, but his conduct 
 was such as to subject him to an admonition from the court. 
 His answers were so equivocal and unsatisfactory, how- 
 ever, that nothing could be extracted from him. 
 
 The continued absence of witnesses, was a perpetual 
 cause of embarrassment to the public prosecutor ; and 
 strong efforts were made between the July and August 
 terms of the courts, to discover and arrest some of those 
 who had been secreted. It was ascertained that one im- 
 portant witness, by the name of Harris, was in Montgom- 
 ery county. A warrant for his apprehension was taken 
 out, and an officer despatched for him with all possible se- 
 crecy. He was there on the arrival of the officer, but be- 
 fore a deputation could be obtained from the sheriff* of 
 Montgomery, a signal was " given, sent, or handed," and 
 the witness suddenly fled. Hannah Farnsworth was ano- 
 ther important witness in the case of Solomon C. Wright, 
 who had been indicted for perjury committed on the trial of 
 Bruce. She long had baffled all attempts to arrest her ; 
 but being at length taken, was admitted to bail, and on a 
 promise in open court to appear and testify, she was releas- 
 ed. She fled, and her recognizance was forfeited. Nor 
 could she afterwards be found. 
 
 Another important absconding witness was Orson Park- 
 hurst. He resided at Rochester, with Ezra Piatt, in Sep- 
 tember, 1826, when Morgan was brought to the village, 
 just at day -light, and was called up by Piatt, to drive his 
 carriage to Hanford's Landing, where he received Morgan 
 and his abductors from Hubbard's carriage. Parkhurst 
 then drove on with Morgan sixteen miles, to Isaac Allen's, 
 where fresh horses were in readiness. Immediately after 
 
400 LETTER XXX VX. 
 
 the transaction, he absented himself, and had been working 
 in different and distant places, until, in the summer of 1829, 
 it was ascertained that he was residing in a sequestered 
 place in New Hampshire. 
 
 " In August, 1829, a court of Oyer and Terminer was 
 " held for Monroe county ; and, as this was the last court 
 ** at which a grand jury would be assembled in that coun- 
 " ty, before the statute of limitations would attach upon pro- 
 " secutions for the conspiracy and kidnapping, preparations 
 " were made for a more thorough investigation than had 
 ** yet been had." Among others, an agent was employed 
 to go in pursuit of Parkhurst. He was found, and brought 
 back to within about forty miles of Rochester, where he 
 mysteriously escaped from the canal boat, in the night, and 
 was not afterwards heard of Having understood that by 
 subsequent disclosures it had been ascertained that his es- 
 cape was owing to the fortitude, the energy, and the affec- 
 tion of a woman, I wrote to Mr. Weed, the gentleman 
 who was employed as the agent in his discovery and ar- 
 rest, and who had him in charge at the time, for the parti- 
 culars ; and as the incident partakes somewhat of the ro- 
 mantic, I beg leave to enclose you the annexed extract from 
 the reply to my communication: — 
 
 " Obtaining a requisition from acting governor Throop, for the apprehen- 
 sion of Parkhurst, as a fugitive from justice, I found and apprehended 
 him in the town of Weathersfield, Vt. The persons impUcated, know- 
 ing that I was in pursuit of some of their associates, stationed men at Al- 
 bany to watch the stages and steam boats. As we were stepping into the 
 stage to go west from Albany, Parkhurst was seen by Ehhu Mather, who 
 drove the Morgan carriage from Gaines to Ridgeway. He immediately 
 communicated the fact to Mrs Platt, who was then residing at Albany. 
 In the absence of her husband, whose indictment and conviction were sure 
 to follow Parkhurst's testimony, Mrs P. instantly disguised her sex, by as- 
 suming men's apparel, obtained a sulkey, which she drove with great speed 
 to Schenectady, where she overtook the stage, and kept along in company 
 with us to Utica, — without, however, getting an opportunity of making her- 
 self known to Parkhurst. 
 
LETTER XXXVI. 401 
 
 " At Utica, we took a canal boat, and Mrs. P. kept on in the stage to 
 Weeds-Port, where she anticipated, and awaited our arrival. We reached 
 there early in the evening, and Mrs. P. came on board. In the course of the 
 evening she got an opportunity to make herself known to Parkhurst, who 
 readily consented to make an effort to escape. The project was facilitated 
 by the captain, (who was a Mason, and an acquaintance of Piatt's ;) and 
 sending the helmsman to bed, the captain took that post himself. At about 
 one o'clock, while 1, who thought all danger and possibility of escape was 
 over, had fallen to sleep, the stern of the boat was laid ashore, and the 
 lady, with my false witness, took the tow path, in the depth of the Monte- 
 zuma marshes, and made a successful retreat. 
 
 " Parkhurst, before meeting with Mrs. Piatt, had made up his mind to go 
 to Rochester, and reveal all he knew, and he could only have been induced 
 to escape, by just such an appeal as was made to him. He had been an 
 inmate of Piatt's family nearly two years, during which time he had had a 
 severe fit of sickness, and received the kindest attentions from Mrs. Piatt, of 
 whose estimable character all who know her bear cheerful testimony. 
 The welfare of her family, and the liberty of her husband, were in the hands 
 of Parkhurst. She had treated him when sick, with the tenderness of a 
 mother, and he would have been less than human, to have been deaf to 
 such an appeal. It was not until the last summer, that 1 ascertained in 
 what manner Parkhurst escaped. The devotedness of the action, on the 
 part of an affectionate wife and mother, entirely soothed the feelings of 
 mortification occasioned by the escape of my fugitive." 
 
 It was believed that had the attendance of Parkhurst been 
 secured, he would have identified several persons in Ro- 
 chester, as having participated in the conspiracy and ab- 
 duction. The only person indicted at this term, however, 
 was the Rev. Francis H. Cuming, then a settled clergy- 
 man, in that place. He has since left the state. The in- 
 dictment against Simeon B. Jewett, was removed to the 
 Supreme Court at this term, by the defendant. At the 
 October term of that tribunal, Jewett made a mo- 
 tion to quash the indictment, on the ground that par- 
 tiality had been exercised by town officers, in selecting 
 grand jurors from the ranks of the Anti-masons, to the ex- 
 clusion of the masonic fraternity, and also that some of the 
 members of the grand jury had expressed opinions upon 
 
 the question of his innocence. The motion was denied. 
 
 51 
 
402 LETTER xxxvr. 
 
 In September further investigations were made before at 
 grand jury of Niagara, and indictments were found againit 
 Henry Maxwell and Norman Shepherd. " An attachment 
 " was issued against John W. Beals, who had been duly 
 " subpoenaed to attend this court as a witness, and had re- 
 " fused to attend. He was a respectable citizen, and a 
 •* Mason of high grade. He was arrested on the attach- 
 " ment, and gave bail to appear and answer for his con- 
 " tempt. But he did not appear, and his bonds were for- 
 " feited." 
 
 But, notwithstanding the legal proceedings of the summer 
 of 1829, to which I have thus rapidly adverted, the public 
 mind seemed to have become more tranquilized, and less 
 clamor was heard at a distance upon the subject of Anti- 
 masonry. The character of the special counsel who had 
 been clothed with the whole power of the state to bring to 
 punishment the offenders,' was such as to deserve, if not to 
 command, the entire confidence of the people ; and it was 
 hoped, that a consciousness that all which the law would 
 allow, and the zeal and ability of an indefatigable man 
 could accomplish, would have entirely allayed the excite- 
 ment, and stripped it, in a measure, of its political charac- 
 ter. But as the November elections approached, the new 
 party again took the field with renewed activity, and the 
 result showed that their principles of action had struck 
 deeper root, and spread wider their branches. The elec- 
 tions, it is true, were of less interest than those of the prece- 
 ding year, which involved the choice of a governor, mem- 
 bers of congress, and a president for the Union. But the 
 Anti-masons nevertheless turned out to a man ; marched 
 up to the polls with as much solemnity as the Covenanters 
 in Scotland whilom went to battle ; — demanding " where is 
 " Morgan ?" and voting down all parties. They carried four- 
 teen of our western counties at this election, and one in the" 
 eastern part of the state. In many other counties where 
 
LETTER XXXVII. 40S 
 
 the Anti-masons were unsuccessful, they showed an aug- 
 mented number of votes ; and the total number polled upon 
 that question, was computed at about 60,000. No evidence 
 of " dying away," was read in that result. 
 
 Very respectfully, &c. 
 
 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 New- York, March 18, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The next in the series of trials of which I have given 
 an abstract, is that of Elihu Mather, who was indicted for 
 participating in Morgan's abduction, being accused of driv- 
 ing the carriage in which he was conveyed, through the coun- 
 ty of Orleans, towards Niagara ; and the main question in 
 which seemed to be, whether or not he knew the fact, that 
 Morgan was in it, and carried forcibly without his consent. 
 
 This case was brought to trial before Judge Gardiner, at 
 the Circuit Court held in the county of Orleans, in Novem- 
 ber, 1829. So much difficulty was experienced in empan- 
 nelling a jury, and so much contrariety of testimony was 
 taken before them, that the trial of the cause lasted ten days. 
 
 The first questions arose in the empannelling of the jury 
 to try the accused. Robert Anderson was called and chal- 
 1 enged for principal cause, on the ground that the defendant 
 and juror were both members of the masonic fraternity. 
 This was demurred to, and the demurrer sustained by the 
 judge, on the ground that as nothing appeared by the plead- 
 ings as to the nature and objects of that association, it form- 
 ed no legal qualification, and consequently was not the sub- 
 ject of challenge for principal cause. 
 
 Anderson was then challenged for favor. Dr. Joseph K. 
 Brown, on the part of the people, testified, that there was a 
 
404 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 pqint in an obligation he took like this — " that I will aid and 
 "assist a companion Royal Arch Mason whenever I shall 
 " see him engaged in any difficulty, so far as to extricate 
 " him from the same, whether right or wrong," and that he 
 knew of no exception or qualification. Daniel Pratt and 
 Archibald L. Daniels were also sworn, to prove a particular 
 intimacy between the accused and the proposed juror ; but 
 nothing on this head was shewn beyond the ordinary cour- 
 tesies of friendship. Robert Anderson was then sworn on 
 the part of the defendant, and testified, that there was a 
 clause in the Royal Arch Mason's oath, which, without be- 
 ing qualified, was something to the effect mentioned by Dr. 
 Brown. That qualification he stated to be, that when he 
 saw a Royal Arch Mason in a quarrel with another, he was 
 to try to get him away, and give him a particular sign, 
 whether right or wrong in that quarrel, — but that all obli- 
 gations, lectures, and charges, expressly required him to 
 obey the laws. The friendship between Masons, he said, 
 was similar to that which exists among members of church- 
 es and societies, liable to be severed by personal or poHti- 
 cal considerations. Witness admitted, on cross-examination, 
 that he might have said at first that he did not believe Mor- 
 gan to have been carried off against his will — he then 
 thought it might possibly be a trick between Miller and 
 Morgan, — and had participated in the feelings of Masons 
 generally, on the subject. Had no particular opinion 
 whether Morgan was, or was not, in the carriage when it 
 arrived at Gaines, but was impressed with the idea that, if 
 so, Mather must have known it. 
 
 Isaac W. Averil, Milton W. Hopkins, and Orson Nichol- 
 son were also adduced by the counsel for the people. No- 
 thing of interest was elicited from the former witness, and 
 the main point bearing upon the case testified to by the two 
 latter, (in which they concurred,) was, that the inculcation to 
 be a good citizen, and obey the laws, was contained in the 
 
LETTER XXXVII. 405 
 
 charge, and not in the oath, — but that there was no obhga- 
 tion to protect or commit crime. . 
 
 The judge instructed the triers, that if in their opinion it 
 was proved, contrary to the testimony of Anderson, that 
 the obligations were given without being accompanied at 
 the time by the explanation he had given, it should exclude 
 him as a juror. Even then, if they found evidence of at- 
 tachment or prepossession between them, sufficient to create 
 a bias which would not readily yield to testimony, it would 
 be their duty to pronounce him unquaUfied. The triers de- 
 termined that Robert Anderson did not stand indifferent. 
 
 John Dolly was also called as a juror, and challenged for 
 principal cause, which was overruled by the judge, and he 
 was then challenged for favor by the counsel for the peo- 
 ple. The proposed juror testified on this issue that he was 
 a mason of eight or nine degrees, and acquainted masoni- 
 cally with the defendant. 
 
 Joseph K. Brown again testified as to the nature and ex- 
 tent of masonic obligations, substantially as he did in the 
 case of Anderson. 
 
 Orson Nicholson and Wm. Ruggles were also called, but 
 the results of their examination did not seem essentially to 
 vary the bearing of the point in issue from what it was in 
 Anderson's case. The triers however decided that John 
 Dolly did not stand indifferent. 
 
 Stephen Martin, Jr., wa§ challenged for principal cause by 
 the defendant, on the ground that he had formed and ex- 
 pressed an opinion of his guilt, and called Eldridge Far- 
 well, who testified that he had heard Martin say, that he 
 believed the masonic institution to be corrupt, — that Mor- 
 gan had been carried away by Masons alone, along the 
 Ridge Road, in a carriage driven by Elihu Mather, — that 
 he knew Morgan was in it, and he (witness) believed him to 
 be guilty. The public prosecutor then offered the chal- 
 lenged juror to explain, who testified that he had no fixed 
 
406 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 opinions of the prisoner's guilt, other than such as were 
 founded on printed statements in the papers and reports in 
 conversation. If the evidence supports the circumstances 
 he has heard, then he has a fixed belief of the guilt of the 
 defendant, otherwise not, and in such case his present belief 
 would be removed. Upon this evidence the judge decided 
 that the challenge for principal cause was sustained, and 
 the juror was set aside. 
 
 Samuel Clark, another juror, was called, and a principal 
 challenge for cause was made to him by defendant's coun- 
 sel. Upon being sworn as a witness, he testified that he 
 had formed an opinion, but had not expressed it. The 
 court thereupon decided that the challenge was not sustain- 
 ed. He was then challenged to the favor by defendant's 
 counsel, and being again sworn, testified that he had formed 
 an opinion that the defendant was guilty. On his cross-ex- 
 amination, he stated that his opinion was formed in conse- 
 quence of reports, and of what he had read. The judge 
 charged the triers that if they believed the juror had now a 
 fixed opinion which it would require testimony to remove, 
 he was disqualified, whether that opinion was founded on 
 rumor alone, or on rumor and printed statements. The 
 triers decided that the juror was not indifferent. 
 
 Carlos C. Ashley, a tales-man, (the panel being exhaust- 
 ed,) was returned by the sheriff, and testified that he had 
 not formed or expressed any opmion of the guilt or inno- 
 cence of the defendant. On his further examination, he 
 stated that he had been for eighteen months a partner with 
 James Mather, the defendant's brother, in the tanning busi- 
 ness : that James Mather was rich, and furnished the capi- 
 tal, and that he, witness, was poor, and furnished the labor 
 for carrying it on ;. that he had been in the employ of 
 James Mather three months before the partnership com- 
 menced, and that, during all that time, the subject of Mor- 
 gan's abduction had never been the subject of conversation, 
 
LETTER XXXVII. 407 
 
 although he had read the newspaper reports of the trials of 
 Bruce and Whitney. Had formed no fixed opinion of the 
 guilt or innocence of the defendant, and thinks he can hear 
 the testimony and give it its due weight, without any strug- 
 gle in his own mind. The judge decided that the juror 
 was indifferent. He was accordingly sworn, and the paneL 
 being full, the trial proceeded. 
 
 Mary W. Hall, Israel R. Hall, Wyllys Turner, and Hi- 
 ram Hubbard were sworn; but their testimony relating 
 wholly to the abduction of Morgan from Canandaigua, and 
 to that part of his conveyance westward, which was pre- 
 ceding the place or time in which the defendant's alledged 
 participation in it commenced, it is not necessary here to 
 recapitulate it. 
 
 Benjamin Wright, Esq., of Adams, in the county of Jef- 
 ferson, testified, that in the winter of 1828, the defendant 
 was at his (witness') office in Adams, when a conversation 
 took place between them, in which he asked defendant about 
 the fate of Morgan. Defendant said he had no doubt but 
 that Morgan was dead, and went into a detail and mention- 
 ed several individuals, among whom was one of the name 
 of Bruce. He said they were prosecuted so severely, that 
 unless the lodges and chapters should do something for thera, 
 they and their families must probably sufier, and asked wit- 
 ness about the state of the funds of the lodge and chapter 
 in Adams. Witness asked' defendant what could induce 
 men of such standing as those he named, to engage in the 
 transaction of carrying ofi' Morgan. Defendant's reply 
 was, in substance, that it was done probably without much 
 reflection. In the course of the conversation, the defend- 
 ant said he was called upon, while he was in or about a tan- 
 yard, by his (defendant's) brother, or in a tan-yard of his 
 brother, and at (he time when he was so called upon, he 
 had no knowledge of Morgan's being in the carriage. Wit- 
 ness was a Freemason, and knew Mather as such. Being 
 
408 1LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 examined again, witness testified that defendant said that 
 had he known that Morgan was in the carriage when he 
 was called on to drive it, or what this business would lead 
 to, or something of that kind, he should have had nothing 
 to do with it, or he should not have driven the carriage. 
 
 Sarah Wilder testified to the identity of the carriage in 
 which Morgan is supposed to have been conveyed, whilst 
 it stopped at Clarkson. 
 
 Silas D. Luce, a stage driver between Oak Orchard and 
 Clarkson, testified that in going east, and within one and a 
 half miles from Gaines' corners, he saw a carriage coming 
 west, and the defendant just behind it, riding one horse, and 
 leading another, very fast. That the defendant soon over- 
 took the carriage which stopped, whereupon the horses 
 were taken out, and those brought by Mather harnessed 
 in. At this point of time witness passed the carriage. 
 When the harnessing was completed, the defendant got on 
 the box and drove the carriage on. Witness looked back 
 and saw the man who had been driving coming towards 
 Gaines with the horses which had just been taken from the 
 carriage. Knew Elihu Mather well. 
 
 Israel Murdock testified, that on 13th September, 1826, 
 about noon, he was standing at the door of Joseph L. Per- 
 ry, at Ridgeway, about nine miles west of Gaines, and saw 
 a carriage coming up and a person driving whom he thought 
 to be the defendant. The next day he saw the same car- 
 riage coming back from the west, and Elihu Mather driv- 
 ing it. He then distinctly recognized him. 
 
 Six respectable and unimpeachable witnesses here suc- 
 cessively testified to the fact of having seen Mather, at 
 diflferent places on that day, driving the carriage westward- 
 ly. They all knew Mather, and one of them saw him on 
 the following day, returning with the carriage. 
 
 Wm. P. Daniels being sworn, was asked whether on the 
 evening of 13th of September, 1826, he, witness, was at 
 
LETTER XXXVII. * 409 
 
 the house of Solomon C. Wright, in Newfane. Witness 
 refused to answer, on the ground that it might criminate 
 himself. It was admitted that the witness was not under 
 prosecution, and the public prosecutor insisted that as the 
 time fixed by the statute of limitations in such cases had 
 elapsed, he was bound to answer. To this it was replied, 
 that it was now generally believed that Morgan was mur- 
 dered ; and if so, the witness might be indicted as an acces- 
 sory before the fact, which did not come within the statute. 
 The court sustained the refusal. He subsequently testified 
 that Wright kept. a tavern at Newfane, on the Ridge Road, 
 about three miles northwesterly from Lockport, and seven 
 or eight miles east from Mollineaux's tavern in Cambria, — 
 that he does not know that defendant was at Wright's on 
 the evening referred to, — that Eli Bruce was at Wright's 
 on that evening, — thinks that Jeremiah Brown was there 
 at the same time, — and supposed that Brown and Bruce 
 left there in a carriage about eight or nine o'clock in the 
 evening. Some further questions were put, which the wit- 
 ness declined answering, and which the court decided he 
 was not bound to answer. 
 
 Daniels, the last mentioned witness, was a Mason, and 
 came into court accompanied by counsel to whom he re- 
 sorted on every difficult occasion, for instructions whether 
 he should answer or not. He not only several times declined 
 answering questions, but in one instance persisted in his re- 
 fusal, until the order for his commitment was nearly com- 
 pleted, when he relented. At one time, he referred to a 
 written memorandum, and read his answer to the question 
 pressed upon him ; and from inquiry it was ascertained 
 that the answer had been written by his counsel ! 
 
 Robert MoUineaux testified to the fact of being called up 
 in the night, and furnishing horses, as on former trials, and 
 Corydon Fox again repeated his story of the night trip 
 from Lewiston down to the fort, without variation. Mr. 
 
 52 
 
410 LETTER XXXVII. 
 
 terry likewise again testified to the fact of having wit- 
 nessed the exchange of passengers from one carriage to 
 another, in the back street of Lewiston. One of the per- 
 sons taken out seemed to have a handkerchief bound about 
 his head, and had not the use of his feet. 
 
 David Maxwell kept the turnpike gate on the Ridge 
 Road about six miles east of MoUineaux's and near to Solo- 
 mon C. Wright's. On 13th September, between ten and 
 eleven o'clock at night, a two horse carriage passed the 
 gate to the west. The toll was paid by Jeremiah Brown, whom 
 he saw returning the next morning in the same carriage, 
 apparently asleep. 
 
 Here the testimony on the part of the prosecution closed. 
 
 The defendant called Israel R. Hall, relative to the trans- 
 actions at Canandaigua ; and also Cory don Fox and Fred- 
 erick B. Moon to describe the premises of Ebenezer Per- 
 ry, and how far it was practicable for him to have seen all 
 he related from the positions he described. 
 
 The defendant's counsel then called five witnesses who 
 testified that the character of the defendant, up to the time 
 of this transaction, had been always that of a good citizen, 
 peaceable, mild and orderly, and that he had been distin- 
 guished for the sobriety and rectitude of his conduct. 
 
 The testimony being closed, the counsel summed up, and 
 the judge having delivered a charge to the juiy, in the 
 course of which he instructed them, that if the jury were 
 satisfied, upon a review of the testimony in relation to the 
 removal of Morgan from the goal in Canandaigua, (as they 
 probably would be,) that a design had been formed by 
 Lawson, Cheseboro and others, to forcibly abduct or kid- 
 nap Morgan, then the inquiry would remain, was the 
 defendant a party to that agreement ? The judge also ad- 
 verted to the confidential relation of the circumstances of 
 the abduction of Morgan, to Benjamin Wright, Esq., in 
 which he said that if ho had known that Morgan was in 
 
LETTER XXXVII. 411 
 
 the carriage, he should never have driven it, as establish- 
 ing the fact, that, how^ever, guilty Mather might be in aid- 
 ing the execution of the conspiracy, he v^^as not a party to 
 it originally. The judge also charged the jury, (on a sug- 
 gestion made by the special counsel,) " that although they 
 " were satisfied that Mather assisted in carrying the con- 
 ** spiracy into execution after its formation, that fact would 
 " not, in the opinion of the court, constitute him a party.*' 
 
 The jury, after retiring from the bar, returned with a 
 verdict of Not Guilty. Messrs. Spencer, A. H. Tracy and 
 J. B. Coles for the people. Messrs. Mathews, Adams and 
 Barnard for the defendant. 
 
 A motion was made to the Supreme Court for a new 
 trial in this case, by the counsel for the people, upon a 
 statement of evidence agreed to by the parties. It was 
 argued at the January term of the court, and the case de- 
 cided at the May term following, (1830,) of which a re- 
 port may be found in IV. Wendell, 229. Thirteen points 
 of exception were made by the counsel for the people ; 
 but the judgment of the circuit judge was sustained by the 
 Supreme Court on all the points but one, and that one they 
 did not deem to be such as could have influenced the jury 
 in rendering the verdict of not guilty. The motion for a 
 new trial was therefore refused. A very able and elabor- 
 ate opinion of the court was delivered by Judge Marcy, 
 but as my object is not the elucidation of points of law 
 but the facts in controversy, I have confined myself to 
 those parts only of the voluminous record that have a di- 
 rect relation to my purpose. 
 
 I have the honor, &;c. 
 
412 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 New- York, March 20, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The Legislature of 1830, commenced its session on the 
 5th of January. In his opening message to that body, the 
 acting Governor referred to the Anti-masonic excitement in 
 the following terms : — " Although. in some sections of the 
 " state an unusual excitement has prevailed, I am happy 
 "to have it in my power to say, that it has not originated 
 " in a desire to change our constitution, or in a distrust of 
 "the integrity of our laws ; but in an honest zeal, overflow- 
 "ing its proper boundaries, misdirected in its efforts, and 
 " carrying into public affairs matters properly belonging to 
 " social discipline. Such feelings cannot long exist beyond 
 " the limits of their proper sphere of action ; and it is a 
 " source of gratification, that in this instance they give evi- 
 ** dence of speedily subsiding into their natural and healthful 
 "channel." In framing this paragraph, his excellency 
 must certainly have been guided rather by his wishes, than 
 by the actual facts, as disclosed in the returns. Twenty- 
 eight members of the legislature, elected solely by the "ex- 
 citement," and an increase of nearly thirty thousand votes 
 from the preceding year, spoke a very different language. 
 On the 27th of January, the Executive transmitted to 
 both houses of the legislature, the report of the special coun- 
 sel, giving an accouut of his proceedings, and the result of 
 his investigations, since his appointment to execute the du- 
 ties of commissioner. This report was an able document, 
 though much of it necessarily consisted of a repetition, in 
 substance, of the history of the outrage, and of the facts 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 413 
 
 brought to light on the preceding trials. In addition to the 
 recapitulation of the earlier portion of the histor}^, it con- 
 tained a detail of the material facts of the evidence which 
 had been disclosed to successive grand juries, and the testi- 
 mony, inextenso, of several of the most important witnesses 
 who had at different times been examined. The materials 
 were so arranged as to furnish an intelligible view of the 
 whole subject, down to that period, with the omission only 
 of particulars the publication of which might have the effect 
 of defeating the ends of justice. 
 
 The legislature was summarily informed by this report, 
 of all the legal proceedings past or pending, under the charge 
 of the special counsel. The period, within which prosecu- 
 tions for the Morgan outrages could be legally instituted, 
 had now expired, and no new indictments could be found. 
 Up to the last moment, however, the special counsel had 
 attended all the courts in the several counties, where indict- 
 ments could be procured, and examined witnesses before the 
 respective grand juries. New indictments had also been 
 found in several instances where the preceding ones were 
 ascertained to be defective. There were at the time of 
 making this report, untried indictments pending in the coun- 
 ty of Niagara, against twelve persons ; in the county of 
 Genesee, four ; and two in each of the counties of Ontario and 
 Monroe. But two trials had taken place during the pre- 
 ceding year, viz : those of Whitney and Gillis, and ofElihu 
 Mather. The Court of Oyer and Terminer, which had 
 been appointed in the preceding April, for Niagara County, 
 had failed, in consequence of the indisposition of the circuit 
 judge. In July a special Court of Oyer and Terminer had 
 been held in that county, at which the indictments, then pend- 
 ing there, were removed by the defendants, by certiorari, in- 
 to the Supreme Court. The Circuit Court appointed for 
 that county in November, had failed, in consequence of the 
 prolonged sitting of the court on the trial of Mather, in the 
 
414 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 county of Orleans ; — so that the indictments in Niagara 
 could not be brought to trial. In the month of August, a 
 Circuit and a Court of Oyer and Terminer, had been held 
 in the county of Monroe, at which the only indictment then 
 pending in that county, was removed into the Supreme 
 Court by the defendant. At the October term of that court, 
 a special motion by the defendant was argued and denied ; 
 and at the term of the same court, for January, not closed 
 when the report was written, the defendant interposed a 
 special plea in abatement. These proceedings had prevent- 
 ed the joining issue upon the innocence or guilt of the de- 
 fendant. 
 
 In regard to the difficulties encountered in pursuing these 
 investigations, the commissioner made several statements 
 of high importance. All but two of the persons the most 
 actively engaged in the conspiracy, as far as the facts had 
 been ascertained, were Masons of the Royal Arch degree. 
 Some of the witnesses had escaped beyond the reach of le- 
 gal process ; others had peremptorily refused to testify, be- 
 ing in the situation which it was supposed placed them be- 
 yond the legal means of coercion. 
 
 " From the members of the masonic fraternity, who still adliered to it, 
 and who considered themselves included in the indiscriminate warfare of 
 which an accomit has been given, the special counsel said no assistance 
 whatever had been received, although the occasions demanding it had been 
 frequent. With but few exceptions, witnesses who still belonged to the in- 
 stitution, had been reluctant in their attendance at court, and apparently 
 indisposed to testify. Difiiculties which never occurred in any other prose- 
 cution, had been met at every step. Witnesses had been secreted ; they 
 had been sent off into Canada, and into different states of the Union. They 
 had been apprised of process being issued to compel their attendance, and 
 had been thereby enabled to evade its service. In one instance, after a 
 party implicated had been arrested and brought into this state, he was de- 
 coyed from the custody of the individual having him in charge, and finally 
 escaped. These occurrences, the commissioner said, had been so numerous 
 and various, as to forbid the belief that they were the result of individual 
 effort alone, and they had evinced the concert of so many agents, as to indi- 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 415 
 
 cate an extensive combination to screen from punishment those charged 
 •with a participation in the offences upon Wilham Morgan. No evidence, 
 hov*rever, had come to the knowledge of the special counsel, to justify the 
 belief that the members of the masonic institution generally, had been enga- 
 ged in any such combination." 
 
 The report having been read, was referred, In the Senate, 
 to the committee on the judiciary. On the motion of Mr* 
 Maynard that it be printed, some opposition was manifest- 
 ed. Mr. Benton, of Herkimer, and Mr. Hubbard, of Che- 
 nango, spoke in opposition to the motion. The former gen- 
 tleman first desired to have the opinion of the committee to 
 whom it had been referred, on the question of printing. 
 Mr. Hubbard contended that the special counsel in framing 
 the report, had travelled out of the record — beyond the line 
 of duty. He said the author might as well have sent a po- 
 litical pamphlet to the legislature, as such a document. He 
 was not required to give his opinion of the merits or demer- 
 its of any particular society. Mr. Maynard replied that if 
 the report ought not to be printedin furtherance of the views 
 of one political party, certainly the printing should not be 
 denied to aid another. There was great anxiety among 
 the people to see the document, and if the printing were re- 
 fused, it would only serve to kindle anew, and increase, the 
 excitement so much deplored. The motion prevailed. 
 
 It was stated by the special counsel, in his report, that, 
 from the peculiar circumstances of the case, he had deemed 
 it a solemn duty to object to the empannelling of any Royal 
 Arch Masons as jurors upon the trial of indictments against 
 their brethren ; and, on the trial of Mather, the objection 
 was sustained in the two instances in which challenges on 
 that ground had been made. In the trial of those challen- 
 ges, testimony had been taken at great length, as to the na- 
 tui'e of the masonic institution, and of the obligations im- 
 posed upon its members. But entertaining doubts whether 
 this testimony fell within that description of evidence which 
 
416 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 the legislature seemed to have intended should be reported, 
 it had been omitted by the special counsel. In consequence 
 of this statement, Mr. Maynard, on the 28th of January, 
 offered a resolution calling upon the special counsel for a 
 full report of all the testimony given on the before mention- 
 ed trial, on the challenges of jurors to favor, in consequence 
 of their being members of the masonic fraternity, and who 
 were pronounced by the triers not to be indifferent : and 
 also requiring him to state the points or questions of law, 
 decided or discussed on said challenges, or affecting the 
 question of the indifferency of the said jurors. After some 
 further debate, an amendment, directing the judge who had 
 held the court, to make a report of the case, instead of the 
 special counsel, prevailed, and in that shape the resolution 
 was adopted. 
 
 Another Anti-masonic state convention was held in Al- 
 bany, commencing its sittings on the 26th of February. 
 Its objects were manifold. About one hundred delegates 
 appeared, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season. 
 Delegates to the National Convention, which was to as- 
 semble in Philadelphia during the ensuing summer, were 
 appointed, and arrangements made for the holding of ano- 
 ther State Convention, with immediate reference to the 
 next state election, then nearly nine months distant. A 
 memorial was adopted, and ordered to be presented to the 
 Legislature, praying for the appointment of a committee, 
 to inquire whether the Grand Chapter of the state of New- 
 York had interfered in the administration of justice, or in 
 any manner aided, countenanced, or protected the viola- 
 tions of our laws, or departed from the objects of its incOij|'^|[ 
 poration, or perverted the purposes of its creation. As sT ' 
 reason for such an investigation, the memorial referred to 
 the charges publicly and repeatedly made, that money had 
 been appropriated from the funds of the said Grand Chap- 
 ter, for aiding in the escape of some of the persons accused 
 
LETTER XXXVIII, 417 
 
 of participation in the Morgan outrage, and for the defence 
 and support of others of the conspirators. This memorial 
 was presented on the 6th of March, and after an ineffectual 
 attempt on the part of its friends to refer it to a select com- 
 mittee, empowered to send for persons and papers, it was 
 ordered to he on the table. It was called up, however, on 
 the 8th ; but its opponents adroitly proposed so to amend, 
 as to send the whole subject to the Attorney General, re- 
 quiring that officer to examine and report, whether, in his 
 opinion, the Grand Chapter had misused its privileges, and 
 if so, requiring him to file a quo warranto before the pro- 
 per court, to obtain a judgment of forfeiture. An animated 
 debate ensued, but the amendment prevailed by a vote of 
 75 to 30. This movement was merely a device to gei rid 
 of the subject as quietly as possible ; and it succeeded. 
 
 On the 16th of April, the Attorney General reported, that 
 an information in the nature of a quo warranto against a 
 corporation, could only be exhibited upon leave granted by 
 the Supreme Court, or some one of its justices ; and to ob- 
 tain leave, either direct or circumstantial evidence must be 
 given of the truth of the matter upon which the informa- 
 tion is founded. He had addressed a letter, on the 10th of 
 March, to Gen. Bellinger, President of the Convention, 
 whose name was at the head of the memorial, requesting 
 him to furnish an affidavit of such facts and circumstances 
 as would establish the truth of the charges against the Grand 
 Chapter. On the 16th of that month he received a reply, 
 stating, in substance, that the writer knew nothing of the 
 facts, save what he had derived from the newspapers, re- 
 ports, &c. He referred to certain persons, however, who 
 he supposed would be able to furnish information. But on 
 inquiry of these, the Attorney General had obtained no evi- 
 dence of the truth of the charges. The memorialists had 
 not stated the grounds of the charges, nor even averred that 
 they themselves believed them. The Attorney General 
 
 53 
 
419 LETTER xxxvin. 
 
 said he would not advise whether mere hear-say evidence 
 was sufficient to warrant a legislative investigation ; but 
 no such proceeding as that contemplated by the resolution, 
 could be instituted by him in the absence of legal proof. 
 Nothing further was heard of the subject. 
 
 No further legislative proceedings took place during that 
 session, excepting the renewal, for another year, of the act 
 authorising the Governor to continue the services of the 
 special counsellor. But from the tone of Mr. Spencer's 
 report, in which he had come directly to the point, respect- 
 ing the conduct of the western Masons on the Morgan 
 trials, he had given offence to certain members not to be 
 forgiven ; and they avenged themselves by cutting his pay 
 down to the beggarly allowance of 1000 dollars. This 
 measure was little short of a direct insult to Mr. Spencer, 
 although it was probably dictated more by party spirit, 
 than any other motive. This same spirit of party, is the 
 vilest demon which walks to and fro in our land. Its in- 
 terference is not confined to the political relations of our 
 country, but is too often felt in our social, and even religious 
 affairs. In the instance before us, the evidence was clear 
 as though written in sun-beams, that party spirit was poi^ 
 soning the sources of the law, and the streams of justice. 
 The fact is not to be disguised — contradicted with truth it 
 cannot be — that Anti-masonry had become so thoroughly 
 political ; its spirit was so vindictive towards the Freema- 
 sons, without discrimination as to guilt or innocence ; and it 
 was in every respect so unyielding, that, almost in the 
 words of Mr. Spencer's report itself, " its effect had been 
 " to compel a more strict and close union among those mem- 
 " bars who still adhered to the institution, and to excite a 
 " sympathy in their favor among many of their fellow-citi- 
 " zens ; and thus to retard and obstruct the attainment of 
 ♦* its professed object." The ardor with which the Anti- 
 masons pressed their political designs, abated the zeal both 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 41d 
 
 of the legislature, and the Executive, in the prosecution of 
 the investigations. With the return of every election, as 
 the Anti-masons gained strength, in a corresponding ratio 
 did those in power, who began to tremble for their places, 
 become more reluctant in pushing forward the prosecutions, 
 by reason of which their new opponents were so greatly 
 profitting. Indeed, from the very outset of this controver- 
 sy, in every legislative measure proposed or attempted, it 
 was perfectly evident that the ruHng majority were secretly 
 opposed to the adoption of any extra efforts to bring the of- 
 fenders to justice. Notwithstanding all their pretended 
 anxiety to have the mystery of the fate of Morgan -s'olved, 
 and the delinquents punished, there was always a lurking 
 feeling of reluctance visible in every motion of the majo- 
 rity, and in every debate. Not, perhaps, that they really 
 wished murderers to go unpunished, but they feared, in the 
 peculiar circumstances of the present case, that in the same 
 degree in which they were aiding the ends of justice, they 
 were likewise assisting a political party that might ere long 
 push them from their places of dignity and power. It was 
 very natural, therefore, that this spirit should have been 
 'more observable during the present session of the Legisla- 
 ture, as had been fully exemplified in the reception of the 
 special counsel's report. More than sixty thousand Anti- 
 masonic votes had been polled at the late election ; and from 
 the preparations then making for the next campaign, there 
 was little reason to believe, that that number would be at 
 all diminished. Most certainly it would not be, if, by the 
 energy, the talent, and the perseverance of the special coun- 
 sel, he should at last succeed in unravelling the mighty mys- 
 tery, (of which result he now began to entertain strong 
 hopes,) should that mystery be found to have terminated in 
 the dreadful tragedy which was now on all hands believed 
 to have marked its end. Looking at the matter, therefore, 
 as 'party politicians, they had no special desire to produce 
 
420 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 any further disclosures ; and from the unbending integrity 
 of the special counsel, and his untiring industry, it was ob- 
 vious, that nothing on his part would be wanting to probe 
 the matter to the bottom, — let the axe of justice fall wherever 
 it might. Such are believed to have been some of the con- 
 siderations which entered into the minds of the legisla- 
 ture, when in re-enacting the law making provision for the 
 employment of the special counsel one year longer, they in- 
 serted a proviso limiting his pay to the sum of 1 000 dollars. 
 Such, unquestionably, was the opinion of the special coun- 
 sel himself, founded not alone upon the action of the legis- 
 lature, as we shall see presently, although at his suggestion, 
 provision had been made for holding a special Court of 
 Oyer and Terminer, early in the then ensuing summer, at 
 which one of the judges of the Supreme Court was to 
 preside. 
 
 Immediately after the receipt of a copy of the new act, 
 thus continuing his appointment, but limiting his compen- 
 sation, the special counsel addressed an able communica- 
 tion to his excellency the acting Governor, giving a histo- 
 ry, in language of firm but temperate indignation, of the 
 treatment he had received at the hands of the government, 
 almost from the day on which he entered upon his duties. 
 From this document, in order to give a just view of the 
 case, it will be necessary for me to quote at considerable 
 length. The only inducements to his acceptance of the 
 commission, Mr. Spencer said, had been the hope of allay- 
 ing the fears and anxieties which prevailed respecting the 
 sufficiency of the laws to punish the outrage which had 
 been committed, and the belief that a faithful and thorough 
 investigation would satisfy an alarmed community, wheth- 
 er it resulted in the punishment of the guilty or not. In 
 the appointment of a special agent to manage the prosecu- 
 tions, Mr. S. contended that — 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 421 
 
 " The government became the prosecutor, and in that, as in every other 
 executive function, it vi^as represented by the Governor. The special coun- 
 sel was not to be a private prosecutor, but the agent of the Executive. As 
 such, it is most evident, he was entitled to the aid, advice, direction and 
 support of the Executive and of ihe other branches of the government. In 
 order to exhibit the urgent necessity of such aid and support, it could not be 
 necessary to refer to the nature of the investigation, the large number of 
 persons accused, their connexion with a powerful society, and their individ- 
 ual influence : for, said^he, your excellency and the whole community but 
 too well know the magnitude and amount of the obstacles to be encountered. 
 Whether the whole constitutional power of the government would be suffi- 
 cient to overcome them, was problematical ; that any thing short of that 
 power, would fail, was certain. Nothing but this conviction could have jus- 
 tified the law directing the employment of a special counsel. Under that 
 conviction, and with full and entire confidence not only in the formal con- 
 currence of the executive, but in his sincere and hearty co-operation, he en- 
 tered upon the duties of the employment to which Governor Van Buren in- 
 vited him." 
 
 Entering upon the duties of the office under such cir- 
 cumstances, he doubted not that he was to receive the sin- 
 cere countenance and support, not only of the Executive, 
 from whom he held his appointment, but from the legisla- 
 ture which had authorized it. But in this just and reasona- 
 ble expectation, he had been disappointed. He said : — ; 
 
 " Positive aid, beyond the performance of formal duties from which there 
 was no escape, has in no instance been rendered me. And instead of re- 
 ceiving any countenance or support, I have been sufiered to stand alone, an 
 isolated individual, carrying on the most laborious and difficult prosecutions, 
 as if they were private suits instituted by me, and without any participa- 
 tion of the responsibility by the members of that government wliich employ- 
 ed me. Indeed their responsibility has been disclaimed by every means 
 which the circumstances would allow. " 
 
 As evidence of the indisposition of the state government 
 to strengthen his hands in pursuing the arduous investiga- 
 tions in which he was engaged, he referred to the manner 
 in which the suggestions contained in his annual report had 
 been received, the debates in the legislature, to which I 
 
422 ' LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 have alread}^ briefly referred, and to the act limiting his 
 compensation to such an inadequate amount. Upon this 
 latter point, however, he held the following highly honor- 
 able language : — 
 
 " I owe it to myself to say that the mmunt of the compensation would 
 not deter me from continuing in the employ of the government, if the cir- 
 cumstances justified, and duty required that continuance. It is not in that 
 view that I regard the matter as worthy of a moment's thought; but it is, 
 that the amount proposed, the manner of the proposition, and the circum- 
 stances under which it was made, furnish to my mind indisputable evidence 
 of the unfavorable sentiments entertained respecting the prosecutions or the 
 agent conducting them, or both. The act presents the singular paradox of 
 disavowing as far as possible the agency it proposes ro renew, and of invit- 
 ing the agent to proceed, in such repulsive language as to render his accept- 
 ance incompatible with the least self respect." 
 
 But the cause of complaint, in Mr. Spencer's mind, at 
 least, did not terminate here : He prpceeded — 
 
 "1 have to complain also, that my official communications to your excel- 
 lency, have been divulged^ so as to defeat my measures and bring undeserv- 
 ed reproach upon me. Those communications related to the means of dis- 
 covering evidfmce of tlie fact of ¥f illiam Morgan's death ; they were not 
 only in their nature strictly confidential, but the success of the measures 
 suggested, depended entirely upon their being unknown to the parties and 
 their friends. Yet they became known to a counsel of the persons impli- 
 cated in the offences upon WiUiam Morgan. I can not comment on this 
 fact, in such a manner as to do justice to my feelings, and at the same time 
 preserve the respect which is due to the chief magistrate of the state. It 
 must be left to the consideration of all impartial men, with the single re- 
 mark, that as it interposes an insurmountable obstacle to all farther com- 
 munications of a confidential character with your excellency, I should thus 
 be deprived as special counsel of an aid altogethe r indispensable to further 
 proceedings. That the reproach which the revelation of that correspond- 
 ence has brought upon me, is undeserved, may at least be presumed from 
 the fact of your excellency's having continued my employment more than a 
 year after those communications were made to you."* 
 
 ♦ Mr. Spencer has also elsewhere justly complained, that — " during the 
 preceding winter, the senate of the state, of whom a large proportion, if not 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 423 
 
 Fi'om these and other circumstances which Mr. S. enu- 
 merated, he believed that his services were no longer ac- 
 ceptable to the Executive, and the dominant party by whom 
 he was supported, and a sense of self-respect would not 
 allow him to retain the situation. He believed, moreover, 
 that, left as he was, without the aid of the executive arm, 
 the prosecutions, in his hands, would lead to no successful 
 results, — while, possibly, some other agent, more in favor 
 with the government, might better succeed in the vindica- 
 cation of the laws. Prompted by these considerations, Mr. 
 Spencer resigned his trust as special commissioner, — with 
 the assurance, that, in handing over his papers to his suc- 
 cessor, all possible assistance would be cheerfully rendered, 
 to aid in the further prosecution of the investigations — sev- 
 eral trials being then in a state of forward preparation. 
 
 The publication of this extraordinary letter of resigna- 
 tion, produced a great sensation in the public mind. The 
 charges against the Executive, were of a very grave char- 
 acter, and they were preferred with too much explicitness, 
 to be evaded. They were accordingly answered, semi-of- 
 ficially, through the medium of the state paper. The charge 
 of having betrayed the confidential correspondence of the 
 special counsel, so as to enable the counsel of the delin- 
 quents to profit by the knowledge they possessed of the 
 
 a majority, wore masons, had passed a resolution calling on the comptroller 
 for a detailed account of all the expenses incurred by the special counsel, 
 with all the vouchers for the items. The accounts and vouchers were ac- 
 cordingly furnished and published, and thus disclosed to the world and the 
 accuseci, the name of every witness who had been examined on the finding 
 of the several indictments, and who was relied upon to sustain them. Eve- 
 ry facility was thus given to the operation of the causes that had so often 
 prevented witnesses from being found when they were wanted ; and, when 
 found, had prevented their attendance ; or, if they attended, had produced 
 short and imperfect nlemories. The eiforts of an officer of the government 
 were thus repudiated by the government itself; something worse than in- 
 difference was exhibited at the success of his exertions ; and, instead of be- 
 ing sustained by the countenance of the govei-nment, he was left to contend 
 against the large body of indicted individuals, and against the whole ma- 
 chinery of raasoiiic combination, including the libels of the press, singly 
 and unaided." 
 
424 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 measures taking by the prosecution to bring them to justice, 
 was flatly contradicted on behalf of the acting Governor. 
 Several publications were made, pro and con., and among 
 them was a statement, under the hands of the counsel of 
 the conspirators, declaring that neither of them, had 
 ever received any information of the description referred 
 to, from the Governor, or any person connected with the 
 Executive. The information alledged to have been receiv- 
 ed in consequence of a betrayal of confidence by the act- 
 ing Governor, was likewise certified by one of the defend- 
 ant's counsel to have been imparted to him by none other 
 than his own client. Two other documents were also dis- 
 closed, in a long and labored defence of the acting Governor, 
 viz : — A letter from the special counsel, of the 29th of 
 March, 1830, to the acting Governor, with the reply there- 
 to of the latter, dated the 6th of April. The special coun- 
 sel's letter here referred to, embraced many suggestions 
 respecting the duties devolving on the writer as special 
 counsel, the expenses necessarily incurred, &c. &c., upon 
 which the advice of the Executive was desired. He also 
 dwelt briefly upon the difficulties wich still encompassed 
 his path in the prosecutions. These were represented to 
 be of the most formidable nature, and were thus enumerated 
 by himself, viz : — 
 
 *' 1st. From the difficulty of discovering witnesses. 2d. From the fow 
 and slight means afforded by law to compel their attendance. 3d. From 
 their reluctance and refusal to testify. And 4th. From the unceasing and 
 untiring exertions of the Masons in the places where I have been, to thwart 
 every effort, by getting witnesses out of the way, and by every other device 
 to which human ingenuity can resort. I am sorry, (he adds,) to be compel- 
 led to give this account of the conduct of Masons. There are some honor- 
 able exceptions ; but they are few." 
 
 But the prominent object of this letter, was to state to the 
 Executive the important fact, that the special counsel had 
 it at length in his power, as he believed, at once to bring the 
 
LETTER XXXVIII. 425 
 
 investigations to a successful close ; — to accomplish which 
 most desirable object, however, it would be necessary for 
 him to have the disposition of the sum of two thousand dol- 
 lars, which had been offered as a reward for the discovery 
 of the criminals, by the late Governor Clinton, and w^hich 
 proclamation was yet in full force and virtue. Liberty to 
 apply that sum of money, and also an assurance of pardon 
 to the witness to be used, were accordingly requested. But 
 I will quote from the letter itself : — 
 
 "In^prosecuting my inquiries concerning the fate of William Morgan, 
 there appears a witness of the utmost importance, vsho, I am persuaded, 
 can disclose all the facts and circumstances of Morgan's death. His name 
 is Elisha Adams, and he is now indicted as an actor in the abduction of Mor- 
 gan. He has hitherto refused to disclose. Without his testimony, we 
 shall never be able to establish, judicially, the fact of Morgan's death. I have 
 prevailed upon an old and intimate friend of his, in whom he has the utmost 
 confidence, residing at Sacket's Harbor, to visit A., who is now at Youngs- 
 town, surrounded by Masons, and to endeavor to prevail on him to tell tho 
 whole truth. To accomplish this, it will be necessary to offer strong induce- 
 ments. I propose therefore to apprise him, that a nolle prosequi will be en- 
 tered on his indictment, that he will receive a pardon, and the reward offer- 
 ed in the proclamation of Governor Clinton, of March 19th, 1827. But I 
 should not feel authorised to do so without the instruction of your excellency 
 to that effect ; and I presume it will be indispensable that I should be able 
 to produce written evidence of your directions. I therefore respectfully soli- 
 cit your instructions on this head." 
 
 This application, just and proper in itself, and usual in 
 the administration of the criminal law of England and Ame- 
 rica, was coldly and cavalierly refused ; and it was this re- 
 fusal, that formed the basis of the charge of the late special 
 counsel, of a want of co-operation on the part of the Ex- 
 ecutive. It is proper, however, that the acting Governor 
 should be allowed to speak for himself ; and I will therefore 
 quote all that part of his letter referring to the point at 
 issue : — 
 
 54 
 
426 LETTER XXXVIII. 
 
 *' 1 understand that you consider the testimony of Elisha Adams indispen- 
 sable to prove Morgan's death ; that he stands indicted for his abduction ; 
 and that you propose as inducements to him to testify, that a nolle prose- 
 qui shall be entered on his indictment, that he shall be pardoned, and that 
 he shall receive the reward of }^2000, promised by Governor Clinton's pro-!, 
 clamation. You ask my assent to this course. However desirable I may 
 consider it to bring to punishment the murderers of Morgan, I cannot give 
 my assent to a measure which would have so strong a tendency to induce a 
 man, who now presents to the public unfavorable points of character, to 
 commit perjuiy. If it were in my power, and you thought it advisable, I 
 would pardon him, so as to take from him the power of refusing to answer 
 under the pretence of criminating himself ; but the 5th sec. of art. 3 of the 
 constitution, which confers on the Governor the power of pardon, limits it to 
 cases * after conviction.' The most that can be done to reach this evidence, 
 is to exercise the common law power of favoritism to the accomplice who 
 gives material testimony, and so far as my assent maybe necessary and pro- 
 per, it shall not be withheld. But that the accused may not be deprived of 
 his legal rights, it is proper that every inducement to testify, which may be 
 thus held out, should be made public, that the jury may judge of the bias 
 under which he gives evidence.'* 
 
 Of most of the acts of Gov. Throop, in regard to the ad- 
 ministration of the criminal law, so far as the executive ac- 
 tion has been required, I have had occasion to express my 
 decided approbation. Several cases are fresh in my mind, 
 in which his excellency has been exceedingly pressed for 
 pardons, or commutations of punishment ; and the course 
 he has taken on such occasions, with the opinions given, 
 have been such as to gain him credit both for his legal tal- 
 ents, and his firmness. But in the case under consideration, 
 I am confident that every criminal lawyer in the land, whose 
 judgment is unwarped by party feeling, would, without the 
 smallest hesitation, declare him clearly in the wrong. The 
 request, under the circumstances, was perfectly reasonable 
 and proper. The contingency had occurred which was 
 contemplated by Gov. Clinton, when the reward was offer- 
 ed ; and had that distinguished jurist, — for he was alike a 
 lawyer and a statesman, — yet lived, it would have beer^ 
 
4 
 
 LETTER XXXVIII. 427 
 
 promptly paid. The proclamation had not been revoked 
 by either of the administrators of the government since his 
 decease ; and it was therefore as much in force, as on the 
 day after the seal had been affixed to it. The suggestion 
 on the score of encouragement to bribery, made by the 
 Governor, and subsequently used as the burden of his de- 
 fence by all the " arranged" presses in the state, was a mere 
 pretext, — an attempt to frame a plausible and popular ex- 
 cuse for an act calculated at once to disappoint the expec- 
 tations, and cool the ardor, of the public prosecutor, while, 
 at the same time, it would most likely have the still further 
 effect of preventing those full disclosures, so anxiously 
 sought by the public. You may call it bribery, if you please ; 
 but it would have been no farther a bribe, save only in 
 amount, than is authorised by the criminal law of England, 
 and every state in this Union, in all cases where the ad- 
 ministrators of the law believe that the cause of justice can 
 be furthered, and the pubhc interests benefitted, by the em- 
 ployment of states' evidences who have been participators, 
 directly or indirectly, in the crimes sought to be disclosed 
 and punished. Every states' evidence who receives from 
 the counsel for the prosecution, an assurance of pardon, on 
 condition of testifying against his accomplices in guilt, may 
 be said in the same sense to be bribed. And yet it is the 
 every day practice in our criminal courts to employ such 
 testimony, of which fact no man is better aware than Gov. 
 Throop. He has been on the bench ; and if, at Canandai- 
 gua, Loton Lawson had come forward as a states' evidence, 
 with a promise of making a full disclosure, I have no doubt 
 that the Judge's approbation of" the blessed spirit," would 
 then have prompted the measure. I regret being obliged 
 thus to speak of this act of our generally correct and esti- 
 mable chief magistrate ; but I feel that my censures are 
 just, and I do not wonder at the disappointment and chagrin 
 
428 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 of the special counsel, on receiving such an unlooked for 
 and abrupt refusal. 
 
 The charge of the special counsel, that the Executive 
 had betrayed the contents of his confidential letters to the 
 counsel of the conspirators, was not well founded. I have 
 no idea that Gov. Throop knowingly did any such thing. I 
 have heard a suggestion, however, which, if correct, would 
 account for the incident that induced Mr. Spencer to sup- 
 pose he had been thus trifled with, without compromising the 
 conduct of the Executive. In these high criminal matters, 
 as in all other state aflairs, it was probably the practice of 
 Gov. T., — certainly it ought to have been, — to call in the 
 advice of those official gentlemen by whom he is surround- 
 ed, and who are his friends. One of his cabinet counsellors 
 had recently been a partner in business with a western 
 gentleman, who was at that period a member of the legis- 
 lature. And that former partner, and member of the legis- 
 lature, was so unfortunate as to have a brother among the 
 parties under indictment for the conspiracy. Does not this 
 fact render the matter of easy solution ? 
 
 I am, sir, with respect, (fee. 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 New- York, March 21, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have heretofore mentioned some instances, and hint- 
 ed at others, in which efforts have been made, from time to 
 time, by the political leaders of the Anti-masonic party, to 
 prolong the excitement by artificial means, and to rekindle 
 the dying embers with additional fuel, as occasion might 
 require. It is now proper to advert, in chronological or- 
 
LETTER XXXIX. 429 
 
 der, to another, and perhaps the most interesting of those 
 attempts. This was the publication in all the Anti-mason- 
 ic papers in this state, of an affidavit made at Boston be- 
 fore John W. Quincy, Esq., by Samuel G. Anderton, rela- 
 tive to an alledged murder by Freemasons, of one William 
 Miller, at Belfast, in Ireland. 
 
 The affidavit states, that in the spring of 1813, the depo- 
 nent revisited Belfast, (having been there before, and be- 
 come acquainted with Wm. Miller and other Masons,) and 
 was induced to offer himself as a candidate for the higher 
 degrees of Masonry. On th(5 evening of the 4th of June 
 of that year, he went to the lodge room. " The whole 
 " number of Masons there of all degrees, was seventy-one, 
 " or seventy-two. That night I took the degrees of Arch, 
 " Royal Arch and Knight Templar." Anderton proceeds to 
 say that during the same evening, and soon after he was dub- 
 bed a Knight Templar, he was told that a Mason would be 
 there who had violated his obligations, by saying that Ja- 
 chin and Boaz was a true hook ; that he had broken his 
 oaths ; was a damned perjured wretch ; had forfeited his 
 life ; and ought not to live any longer among men or 
 Masons. 
 
 He (the deponent) wished to leave the room, but was 
 told that " it was never allowed on such occasions." They 
 were then ordered to cast lots to see who should officiate 
 as executioners, and the lots fell (he thinks unfairly,) upon 
 three foreigners, viz, a Swede, a Dane and himself. The 
 Swede and Dane were strong, athletic men, — masters of 
 vessels, — and strangers to the deponent, who was struck 
 with indescribable horror and astonishment, beyond any 
 exigency to which he had been previously reduced. 
 " Amidst all my other dangers," says he, " I felt that I was 
 " doing my duty ; but this I concluded would be murder in 
 " cold blood." 
 
430 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 The narrator had been told in the course of the day by 
 Miller, that he (Miller,) was to be made a Knight Temp- 
 lar that evening /ree of expense; and he (Anderton,) now 
 learned that Miller was the individual about to suffer death, 
 and for whose murder he had been specially designated. 
 ^* I told them, (says Anderton,) I could not do it. I begged 
 *' and entreated ; told them I had as lief have my own 
 " throat cut as commit such an act. My feelings were so 
 " distressed, and I expressed myself in such a manner, that 
 " after some time I was excused. The Swede and Dane, 
 " according to my best remembrance, did not object. Sev- 
 " eral others said ' they would help to execute any one who 
 " broke his obligations ; that every Mason ought to help 
 " to do it,' or words to that effect." " They had a canvass 
 " cloth cap, or bag, to put over his head, and to come down 
 " a little below the chin, rigged with small ropes or strong 
 " cords, fixed in the lower part of it, so as to slip easily, 
 " that when the cap was on, and the cords drawn each 
 " way, right and left, the cap would be gathered tight un- 
 " der the chin so as to shut his mouth, and at the same time 
 " draw so close round his neck and throat as to strangle 
 " him." — " It was now the black hour of midnight. The 
 " executioners took their stations a little to the left of the 
 " high priest." Miller having doubtless been decoyed by 
 the promise of being made a Knight Templar free of ex- 
 pense, was then conducted into the room, hoodwinked, with 
 his coat off, somewhat in the condition that candidates usu- 
 ally are. " He was led along slowly from the west up 
 >♦ near his executioners, when some one said, ' Who comes 
 " there V * who comes there V The answer was bawled out 
 " as they siezed him, * a damned traitor ; one who has brok- 
 ♦' en his masonic obligations.' With that he exclaimed, * O 
 ^* my God ! are you going to murder me? O my wife ! O 
 " my children !' The agony, the strong struggle, and the 
 
LETTER XXXIX. 431 
 
 " half utterance of these words, and the final shriek, as the 
 " cap went over his head and face, pierced me to the heart, 
 "and was enough as I should think, to soften the hearts of 
 " savages, if they had not taken masonic oaths." 
 
 " Those horrid sounds of the tortured victim seem still to ring in mine 
 ears. No sooner was the murderous cap drawn over his face, and his whole 
 head enveloped, than, at the same instant, the Swede and Dane appeared 
 to spring with all their might and strength, drawing each in opposite direc- 
 tions, by ropes or cords around his neck ! ! Poor Miller, after the most 
 frantic struggles, like a person in a fit, then settled down to the floor in the 
 most dreadful convulsions. Other Masons fell on him, while the Swede 
 and Dane, bracing their feet against his body, still pulled by the cords ! there 
 while struggling on the floor, they cut his throat ! and then cut his left breast 
 and side open, so as to show his heart ! ! Some, very few. Masons present, 
 seemed, by their looks, to express some sympathy and compassion, while 
 the rest, using the most profane, revengeful language, with their fists 
 clenched, grinned with horrid approbation ! The body was then carried 
 down stairs, while several Masons kept watch for fear of detection, and was 
 thrown over into Limekiln Dock ! ! 1 got away from this scene of masonic 
 murder as soon as possible, with the most awful impressions. Before I left 
 Belfast, I heard by common report, that the body was taken up the next 
 day, and that a coroner's inquest decided that WiUiam Millier was murdered 
 by persons unkaown — or something to that effect." 
 
 Such is the relation of Samuel G. Anderton, and it is not 
 to be denied that the publication of this tragical story made 
 for a time a deep impression upon the public mind. The 
 minuteness of its details, and the general air of probability 
 thrown over it, was calculated to make such an impression. 
 I felt it myself, and held repeated conversations with some, 
 of my friends who were Masons, and who were equally as- 
 tounded with myself. So important did I consider it, that 
 I resolved if possible to institute an investigation of its truth 
 or falsity. An American gentleman, — -a Royal Arch 
 Mason, with whom I am intimately acquainted, — who 
 had been much in Ireland of late, undertook the investiga- 
 tion. He was well acquainted with a gentleman in Bel- 
 
432 LETTER XXXIX* 
 
 fast, a man of intelligence and undoubted integrity, who 
 was not a Mason ; and it was deemed proper to seek 
 through him the requisite information. 
 
 The act alledged by Anderton to have taken place at Bel- 
 fast, was even more atrocious than the murder of Morgan. 
 It was more barbarous in its character, and perpetrated 
 officially, by a lodge, instead of being the act of infatuated 
 individuals. Assuming this fearful aspect, both myself and 
 my friend determined that if the investigation did not re- 
 sult in the refutation of Andertons statement, we would 
 publicly renounce Freemasonry. 
 
 Pursuant to this arrangement, a letter was addressed on 
 the 15th of May, 1830, to Mr. Edward Tucker, of Belfast, 
 requesting full and accurate information on the subject. A 
 copy of Anderton's affidavit, was inclosed, together with a 
 copy of the affidavit of Agnes Bell, and a copy of the re- 
 port of a committee in Boston, — the two latter, however, 
 principally for the purpose of facilitating inquiry. The re- 
 ply was not received until the 15th of October of the same 
 year ; but it proved most conclusively that the whole story 
 was a gross fabrication. 
 
 " If such an occurrence, says Mr. Tucker, had taken place, it is incredi- 
 ble, that in a town like this, where fAree newspapers were published, so ex- 
 traordinary a circumstance as the discovery of a man's body in the dock, 
 with his throat and side cut open, should escape notice. Now, all the papers 
 of that period have been minutely examined, and not the slightest allusion 
 to such an event can be met with. In the * Commercial Chronicle' of 7th 
 or 8th of June, 1813, which I examined, there is a paragraph headed * ano- 
 ther murder,' but it is in relation to an old woman in Scotland, and has refer- 
 ence to some shocking murders lately perpetrated in London. The time is 
 not very remote, and yet no one can be found in this place who recollects 
 any such tragical death, or its attendant rumors." 
 
 The story of Anderton had found its way to Ireland be- 
 fore my friend's communication had arrived there ;-— an ex- 
 amination had been instituted ; and in relation to it, the 
 
LETTER XXXIX. 433 
 
 Guardian, one of the most respectable newspapers in that 
 kingdom, remarks under the editorial head as follows : — 
 
 " We have made inquiry respecting this calumnious story, and find that 
 it is a tissue of falsehood from beginning to end. No such person as Wil- 
 liam Miller was ever admitted into any lodge in this town ; and Mr. Allan, 
 the coroner, declares that he has examined his books, or registry, from a 
 period prior to the year 1813, down to the present time, and that no inquest 
 was held on the body of any individual of that name ; and that if any re- 
 port of such a murder had been current in Belfast, he must have heard it." 
 
 But the refutation was not left to stand upon mere asser- 
 tion, however conclusive in its terms, or however respecta- 
 ble the affirmant. It was sustained by testimony under 
 oath, of which the following by the coroner would seem to 
 be irresistible : — 
 
 " The voluntary deposition of Henry Allan, of Belfast, in the county of 
 Antrim, in that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 called Ireland, Esq., who, being duly sworn on the Holy Evangehsts, upon 
 his oath, saith, that he was appointed a coroner for said county in March, 
 1813, and hath regularly resided in Belfast since that period, and been the 
 only coroner resident therein ; and saith, he has carefully examined his re- 
 gister of inquests, and that he never did hold an inquest on any person of the 
 name of Wilham Miller, nor did he ever hear of a person of that name hav- 
 ing been found dead in Belfast, or of an inquest having been held on any per- 
 son of that name ; and deponent hath presided at every inquest held in Bel- 
 fast since he was appointed coroner, except one, on the bodies of two men, 
 named Grimes and Menary, who were shot in a riot in North-street, Bel- 
 fast, on the 12th of July, 1S13." 
 
 The secretary of the lodge in which Anderton lays the 
 scene of his tragedy, also made affidavit that there was no 
 man either of the name of Anderton, or Miller, admitted 
 into the lodge during the time of his secretaryship, which 
 embraced the whole period between 1811 and 1814. Eight 
 other persons, members of the lodge, testified under oath — 
 
 " That they respectively never knew a person of the name of Wm. Millei* 
 as a member of that lodge, nor does any of them ever recollect a person of 
 
 55 
 
434 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 that name having been a visiter m that lodge; and deponents say, that they 
 never knew any person of the name <of Samuel G. Anderton to have been 
 admitted as a Mason in that lodge, or as a visiter in it, nor did they ever know 
 a person of the name of Anderton either as a mason or otherwise.^'' And tlie 
 deponents further ** severally swear that the statements made in said affida- 
 vit respecting the said Samuel G. Anderton, having been admitted a mem- 
 ber of said lodge, number 272, and respecting the murder of a person named 
 William Miller in that lodge, are in all respects, and in every particular, 
 gross, infamous, and unfounded falsehoods, as far as these deponents are 
 concerned, and as far as these deponents know, or have heard, no such 
 transactions having ever taken place." 
 
 These depositions were sworn to at Belfast on the 31st 
 May, 1830, before C. M. Skinner, police magistrate for 
 Belfast, and Henderson Black and Robert Thompson, Esqs., 
 justices of the peace for the county of Antrim, and seem 
 in connexion with the representations of Mr. Tucker, and of 
 the editor of the Belfast Guardian, to form a refutation of 
 Anderton's story, as conclusive as can be established by hu- 
 man testimony. 
 
 It has indeed been asked what adequate motive could 
 have operated upon the mind of Anderton to induce him to 
 forswear himself? To this it may be answered, that it is not 
 easy at any time to assign an adequate motive for the vio- 
 olation of truth ; — and yet it is notorious that it is violated 
 from time to time, with and without the sanction of an oath, 
 and that too very often, with very small temptation. Pecu- 
 niary interest, and personal vanity, arising from the gratifi- 
 cation of becoming distinguished, are perhaps the most 
 common causes, — and although we are not aware that the 
 former could have operated in the present instance, yet it is 
 easy to conceive that the latter might ; and that it would 
 possess additional inducement at a time of public excite- 
 ment. 
 
 But it has also been suggested in relation to Anderton, 
 how could he have invented, by the mere force of imn^ina- 
 
LETTER XXXIX. 485 
 
 tion, a scene so minute in its details, and so vivid in its dra- 
 matic effect, unless it was founded in truth ? 
 
 Really I do not perceive in this narrative a greater min- 
 uteness or accuracy of detail, nor a more vivid creation of 
 fancy, than is often found in ordinary works of fiction, or 
 even in nursery tales. No man, in relating a murder of 
 which he assumes to have been a witness, (whether true or 
 false,) would forbear to state the particulars in minute de- 
 tail, if he expected to be believed, — for the whole scene, 
 and each particular, of such an awful occurrence, must be 
 presumed to have made a deep impression on his mind. 
 The relator, therefore, would naturally be ready to meet 
 such expectation ; and after the outlines of the piece have 
 been struck out, it can require no very deep reach of the 
 imagination to fill up the shades and coloring of the picture. 
 But there are points and errors in this representation which 
 show that it was not drawn by the hand of a master. 
 
 In addition to the extraneous evidence of its falsity, there 
 are internal proofs of its want of accuracy and truth. 
 
 Sixteen years had elapsed between the alledged occur- 
 rence, and the date of the affidavit ; and yet Anderton not 
 only swears to the year, and the month, and the day of the 
 month, on which the murder took place, but he also avers 
 that the number of Masons present was seventy-one, or se- 
 venty-two ! Now had he been a teller, instead of a visiting 
 brother, it is hardly to be credited that he could have arriv- 
 ed at such extreme accuracy among a floating body. What 
 inducement was there for him to count the number ? — -or if 
 he did, how unusual it is that it should be treasured up for 
 such a series of years ! I appeal for the test of its proba- 
 bility to the experience of every man who has been in the 
 habit of visiting a promiscuous assembly, of whatever cha- 
 racter. The very next sentence contains a falsehood. He 
 says, that on the night of the murder, he, the deponent, took 
 the degrees of Arch, Royal Arch, and Knight Templar. 
 
456 LETTER XXXIX. 
 
 Now it is susceptible of the most undoubted proof that there 
 exists neither in this country, nor in Ireland, the degree of 
 Arch as contradistinguished from the Royal Arch, and yet 
 he asserts, as clearly as language can convey a meaning, 
 that he took three degrees the same night, of which two only 
 have ever had existence ! Another part of the story is, to 
 say the least of it, very singular. The murder was per- 
 petrated, it would seem, in an encampment of Knights Tem- 
 plars, and the offence was an averment by Miller that Ja- 
 chin and Boaz, a book that does not profess to reveal the 
 secrets of the Knight Templar's degree, was true. Human 
 experience does not often record the perpetration of gratui- 
 tous murders ; yet here is an accusation of the spilling of 
 blood by one set of men, in revenge for the wrongs inflict- 
 ed upon another ! 
 
 Without dwelling, however, upon the inaccuracy of stat- 
 ing that a highpriest presided over a Knight Templar's en- 
 campment, and various other inconsistencies, there is one 
 general and entire objection to its probability, which must, 
 I think, fully confirm the direct refutation that has been pre- 
 sented in contradiction to the story. 
 
 This barbarous murder is alledged to have been perpe- 
 trated, not like the supposed destruction of Morgan, in the 
 lone, dark border of a secluded frontier, but in the midst of 
 a populous city : — no conclave arrangements had excluded 
 from witness or participation those who might betray the 
 horrid secret ; — on the contrary, the doors of the lodge- 
 room or encampment, were open not only to those who had 
 plotted the guilt, but to visiting brethren and strangers ! 
 
 Nor is this all. The strangets are made the executioners 
 
 a Dane — a Swede — an American — all foreigners, are to ' 
 perpetrate this foul deed, at the mere instance and request 
 of their Belfast brethren ! The Dane, and the Swede, 
 made no objection ; but he, Anderton, was " so distressed," 
 that they excused him ! !— Would men so deep in guilt, 
 
LETTER XXXIX. 437 
 
 when they found a comrade so faint-hearted, have excused 
 him — or would they not have plunged a dagger in his bo- 
 som to prevent his dangerous tales ? And is it credible that 
 Swedes and Danes, rarely visiting the port of Belfast — 
 rarely speaking the language, with correctness, and rarely 
 being able to understand each other, would have so readily 
 comprehended the foul offence of admitting Jachin and 
 Boaz to be a true hook, and have been so ready to embrue 
 their hands in blood to avenge the admission ? 
 
 Yet the super-remarkable incidents of this tragedy do not 
 end here. Unlike the skilful precautions that, as will here- 
 after be seen, were used in the case of Morgan, to prevent 
 the implication of each other, the Belfast murderers not 
 only perpetrated the deed in the open presence of many 
 and " distressed" witnesses, — foreigners and visiting bre- 
 thren assembled from any and every quarter of the world, 
 — but such was their infatuation, that after strangling their 
 victim until he was dead, dead, dead — they cut his throat, 
 without the fear of its tell-tale stain upon the floor, and put 
 upon him the masonic mark, by cutting open his side and 
 left breast, so as to show his heart ! ! ! This, as the invok- 
 ed penalty of the obligation that he had taken and violat- 
 ed, must have been done for the purpose of procuring tes- 
 timony to convict themselves ; — and then, to consummate 
 the evidence, the body, with this official label upon it, to in- 
 dicate the perpetrators, is cast into one of the most public 
 docks of the city ! ! ! 
 
 When human nature shall tread backward, we may be- 
 lieve the story of Samuel G. Anderton — but until then — 
 NEVER. 
 
 With great respect, 1 remain, &c, 
 
438 LETTER XL. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 
 New- York, March 22, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The next tiial was that of Ezckiel Jewett, which com- 
 menced on the 15th of June, 1830, at the Niagara Special 
 Circuit. Hon. WilKam L. Marcy presiding. Counsel for 
 the government, Messrs. Birdseye, (special counsel,) Whit- 
 ney and Ransom ; for the defendant, Messrs: Matthews, 
 Griffin, Barnard and Mason. Mr. White appeared as coun- 
 sel for the masonic witnesses. Jonathan Aire was drawn 
 as a juror, and challenged by the counsel for the govern- 
 ment for principal cause, to wit, for being a Mason. 
 
 Judge Marcy, by consent of parties, was substituted for 
 the triers. Aire being sworn, testified that he was a Free- 
 mason, and had passed through three degrees. He had 
 heard that the defendant is a Mason, but should not feel 
 bound to show favor to a Mason on trial, — nor had he ever 
 said that Masons should not be punished for their acts rela- 
 tive to this affair. He did not recollect the precise words 
 of th(> obligations he had taken, but he believed he swore 
 by a book, which he had never read, but had looked into it. 
 His obligation was to live uprightly, but he did not consid- 
 er himself bound to show a Mason more favor than any 
 other man. There was a sign of distress, and he believes 
 that if a Mason or any other person was in danger of his 
 life, he was bound to assist him. There was an exception 
 in the obligation to render assistance, but what it was he 
 could not recollect. He was bound to keep the secrets of 
 a brother Mason, but could not recollect the clause about 
 going with a master's errand. There had been no commu- 
 
LETTER XL. 439 
 
 iiications by masonic signs or otherwise, between him and 
 the defendant now on trial. 
 
 Milton W. Hopkins was now called as a witness to show 
 the purport of the masonic obligations. It was objected by 
 counsel for the defendant, that before the testimony of wit- 
 ness could be introduced to show the purport of masonic 
 obligations, it must be proved that the masonic oaths were 
 similar in the diiierent lodges. Witness then stated that he 
 had taken three degrees, besides one or two side degrees, 
 and was very conversant with Masonry. He had been in 
 many lodges in different parts of this state ; and all masonic 
 societies, with which he is acquainted, have the same signs 
 and tokens. He had been in the masonic lodges in Canada, 
 and heard the obligations taken there, — the ceremonies were 
 the same in Canada as in New- York. He had heard the 
 obligation of a Master Mason taken in'^several different 
 places, and it is substantially the same in all places, and so 
 are the ceremonies. 
 
 The court decided that as the testimony of the witness 
 showed that the masonic fraternity were the same throughout 
 the world — the oath or obligation of a Master Mason in one 
 lodge, ought to be received as prima facie evidence of the 
 oath or obligation administered to the juror. 
 
 The witness then proceeded to recite the substance of a 
 Master Mason's obligation, substantially as disclosed by 
 Morgan; after which he underwent a long examination 
 upon the subject of the obligations and rules of the order in 
 general, which it is quite unnecessary to repeat in sketching 
 the present trial. The witness said he was made a Mason 
 in Jefferson county, in 1817. There are weekly meetings 
 to rehearse the obligations ; — at these meetings it is usual 
 to go through all the masonic ceremonies. He had learnt 
 the oaths so perfectly that he could now repeat them verbatim. 
 He had heard the obligations administered in different lodg- 
 
440 LETTER XL. 
 
 es, and they were the same in each place ; — sometimes, 
 however, a clause, not material, is left out, or, perhaps, a 
 part is omitted by mistake. In 1827 he revealed these ob- 
 ligations to others than Masons. A lecturer, he said, was 
 sent every year from the Grand Lodge, for the purpose of 
 correcting errors, and seeing that the signs, obligations, &c, 
 are kept precisely the same in all the lodges. The juris- 
 diction of the Grand Lodge of New- York is confined to the 
 limits of the state ; and he knew not of any connexion be- 
 tween the lodges in this state and the lodges in Canada. 
 Witness had never heard that political obligations were in- 
 corporated into the oath in this or foreign countries. A 
 charge is given when a member is admitted : the charge is 
 written in a book, and is often read. The substance of this 
 charge is, to be good citizens, good men, and good Masons. 
 Charity and obedience to the laws are inculcated, and the 
 candidate is assured before taking the obligation, that it will 
 not interfere with his religion or his politics. It was object- 
 ed by defendant's counsel, that if the charge was written, or 
 printed in a book, it ought to be produced, but the objection 
 was over-ruled by the court. The witness further stated, 
 that the charge enjoined upon the candidate to perform all 
 his relative duties as a citizen, but more particularly his du- 
 ties as a Mason. 
 
 William Hodgkirs was now introduced. He stated that 
 the defendant was a Mason. He did not know of exactly 
 what degree, but he did know him to be a Royal Arch 
 Mason. 
 
 Mr. Birdseye here intimated to the court, that a connex- 
 ion by signs, &c. existed between Aire the juror and the 
 defendant. 
 
 The testimony as to the qualificationsof the juror being clo- 
 sed, and the counsel for the prosecution, and for the defend- 
 ant, having been heard, Judge Marcy, after recapitulating 
 
LETTER XL. 441 
 
 the substance of the masonic obligations as disclosed in the 
 testimony of Hopkins, in giving his decision, remarked, in 
 substance, as follows : — 
 
 " That the conclusions to which he came in relation to the challenge to 
 the juror, (Jonathan Aire,) were, that the oaths taken by Masons are whol- 
 ly extra-judicial, and in a legal point of view, are not to be regarded as bind- 
 ing upon the persons to whom they are admmistcred. If, by fair construc- 
 tion, these oaths enjoined partiality to a brother Mason in the relation of 
 juror and party, the engagement Would not be strictly and legally obligatory. 
 The taking of such an oath would not, therefore, be a principal cause of chal- 
 lenge to a juror. But, if, by the fair construction of masonic obligations, 
 and the juror^s understanding of them, he had engaged to extend favor to a 
 brother Mason, when that favor would be an act contrary to law, or in any 
 respect contrary to his duty as a juror, the fact of his having placed liimself 
 under such an obligation, would be a good ground of challenge for favor, 
 and substituted as 1 am, by consent of parties, for the triers, I should feel it 
 my duty to set aside a juror on such a challenge, if it was sustained. 
 
 " It is quite uncertain what were the obligations which Aire took,— but 
 assuming that they were similar to those in the oath repeated by Hopkins- 
 most of them, it will be observed, enjoin acts in accordance with high moral 
 duties ; — and all of them, I think, may apply to acts which do not necessa- 
 rily conflict with the laws of the state, or any duty enjoined by those laws. 
 Considering the nature of these obligations, the assurance given to the candi- 
 date, before they are administered, and the charges that follow, I cannot say 
 that a Mason could rightfully suppose that he thereby became barred to do 
 any thing contrary to his duty as a good citizen. 
 
 " That there are Masons so infatuated as to entertain an opinion that 
 their masonic obligations are paramount to the civil laws, in some instances, 
 and that they violated the latter by obeying the former, cannot now be doubt- 
 ed ; — but I cannot yield to the belief that such is the general condition of 
 the order. To any of those who act upon such a principle, and form, as I 
 apprehend they do, an exception to the mass of the fraternity, I should hold 
 the objection now made to this juror as well taken. But in relation to this 
 juror, it does not appear that he assumed a masonic obligation clearly in- 
 compatible with his civil duty ; nor is there evidence to call up a reasonable 
 suspicion that he ever regarded his masonic obligations in any other light 
 than as subservient to his civil duties. 
 
 " If it had been, or could be, shown, that Aire entertained the opinion 
 that his masonic obligations were inconsistent with his civil duties as a citi- 
 zen of this government, — that he had in the slightest manner countenanced 
 the outrage committed in this part of the state,— or even approved of the 
 principle on which the infatuated men, engagdd in that transaction, proceed- 
 
 56 
 
442 LETTER XL, 
 
 ed, — I should not hesitate to pronounce him disqualified to take a seat 
 among the jurors who are to try this cause. But, as he stands before this 
 court, I cannot reject him without setting a precedent that would subject to 
 a challenge for faror, every Mason in the state, in those^ cases'where any of 
 the fraternity might be parties. Such a proceeding has not yet been sanc- 
 tioned, and, I trust, is not yet required, for the purposes of the due adminis- 
 Iration of justice. I therefore decide that Aire be admitted as a juror."* 
 
 Nathaniel Denman was now drawn as a juror, — being 
 sworn as a witness to prove his qualifications to serve, — he 
 stated, that he was a Mason, and had, about two years ago, 
 sat in a lodge. The obligations which he had taken were 
 the same as detailed by Hopkins. He had met with the 
 lodge ten times or more, — but had never heard any thing 
 said in the lodge as to the Morgan affair. He. believed that 
 Masons carried off Morgan, but never approved of it. He 
 yet believed himself bound to keep his oath. The grand 
 hailing signs of distress, he said, were given only when life 
 was in danger, and not on such a trial as the present. He 
 thought, however, he should show all the favor he could to 
 a brother Mason. 
 
 The court thereupon put this question to the witness : — 
 Should you be disposed to show more favor to a Mason 
 than to a person not a Mason, on a trial ? The witness 
 replied that he did not know but he should. The court de- 
 cided that he was disqualified to sit as juror. All the jurors 
 drawn were challenged, and several others were set aside, 
 for having expressed an opinion touching the guilt of the 
 defendant at the bar, or of the masonic fraternity generally. 
 In several instances, the persons drawn as jurors, not Ma- 
 sons, had expressed the strongest opinions, not only as to 
 the guilt of the defendant, but of every member of the ma- 
 sonic fraternity. Such jurors were of course set aside. 
 
 After a very brief opening by Mr. Whiting, to the jury, 
 in which he explained the nature of the cause they were 
 
 ♦ This decision is substantially copied from the manuscript notes of tlw- 
 Judge himself, politely furnished for my use in the present work. 
 
LETTER XL. 443 
 
 empannelled to try, and alluded to the more prominent facts 
 which the counsel for the government expected to prove, 
 Orsamus Turner was called upon the stand. Before giving 
 his testimony however, the witness requested permission 
 to confer with his counsel, which was objected to by the 
 counsel for the prosecution, on the ground that he had 
 known for ten days that he would be called to testify in this 
 cause. The court refused to grant the application of the 
 witness, at this stage of the trial, and the examination pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 Turner stated, that in September, 1826, he resided in 
 Lockport — was at that time a member of the masonic fra- 
 ternity, and knew the defendant, who then resided at Fort 
 Niagara, and was the keeper of the fort. The fact that one 
 William Morgan was about publishing a book relating to 
 Freemasonry, was known among Masons at the time just 
 mentioned. The propriety of suppressing the book was 
 discussed, and measures proposed for accompHshing the 
 object. One of these measures was the removal of Mor- 
 gan from his friends in Batavia. Certain persons in Bata- 
 via were consulted as to the propriety of this measure ; they 
 did not approvc'of it, and it was finally concluded not to 
 make any definite movement in the matter. Witness had 
 heard that Morgan was coming to this place, (Lockport,) 
 but at present knew not from whom he heard it. He was 
 also, ignorant as to any measures for his removal and con- 
 finement in jail. 
 
 The following question was now put to the witness : — : 
 " Was the defendant one of the persons consulted with, in 
 " relation to separating Morgan from his friends at Batavia, 
 " as a means of suppressing the contemplated publication of 
 " a book concerning the secrets of Freemasonry ?" This 
 question the witness declined answering on the ground that 
 his answer might subject him to a similar prosecution — and 
 his counsel contended that the answer of the witness might 
 
444 LETTER XL. 
 
 involve himself in an indictment for murder, — as it v^as 
 alledged that Morgan was murdered, and such w^as proba- 
 bly the fact. 
 
 The court remarked that the v^ritress must know that a 
 crime had been committed, before he could claim the privi- 
 lege of not answering a question upon the ground that the 
 answer might have a tendency to involve him in a prosecil- 
 tion for that crime. The counsel for the people contended 
 that the prosecution had not set up any. such ofFehce as 
 murder, — that it was not in possession of any positive evi- 
 dence upon which to found such an indictment, — and that 
 the record of acquittal then before the court, exonerated 
 the witness from any prosecution for a misdemeanor. 
 
 The counsel for witness replied that the absence of such 
 positive evidence was no reason why the witness had not 
 cause to fear, — for the very object of the inquiry might be 
 to elicit such evidence, — and the answer of the witness 
 might have a tendency to render him infamous, or disgraced, 
 and he would therefore submit to the court whether the wit- 
 ness should answer the question. 
 
 The court ruled, that it was not sufficient to entitle the 
 witness to the privilege claimed, that the answer might 
 
 have a tendency to render him infamous or disgraced ; the 
 
 question must be such that the answer to it will show di- 
 rectly the infamy, and the court must see that such will he 
 the case, before the privilege will be allowed. As to the 
 objection that the answer of witness may have a tendency 
 to implicate him in a crime or misdemeanor, or expose him 
 to a penalty or forfeiture, the court remarked, that the wit- 
 ness cannot be compelled to answer any interrogatory that 
 will involve him in a criminal prosecution. If the court 
 were satisfied that the answer of witness w^ould furnish di- 
 rect evidence of his own guilt, or would establish one of 
 many facts which together would warrant his conviction, 
 then the privilege would be allowed. But the witness can* 
 
LETTER XL, 445 
 
 not set up such a defence unless he knows that his answer 
 will so involve him. To entitle to the privilege, the answer 
 to the particular question put must so involve the witness in 
 an indictment. On the trial of Aaron Burr, for treason, a 
 witness was shown a letter in cipher. He refused to an- 
 swer whether he- knew it or not ; — and the case before us 
 is similar. 
 
 The counsel for the witness remarked, that the cases dif- 
 fered, — because the witness is here asked whether he knew 
 the defendant was consulted anterior to the trial. The 
 court replied, that the witness must claim the privilege 
 when in danger ^ Burr's case was not like the present, — 
 there the concerting was a crime— not so here. The coun- 
 sel for witness further objected that the witness did not rest 
 his refusal to answer on the misdemeanor, but on the ground 
 that a murder has actually been committed. Some inquiry 
 would then be had. 
 
 The Court said, " you must establish that point : every per- 
 son who helped take off Morgan, would not be liable to an 
 indictment for his murder, as that crime might have been 
 committed in pursuance of other and subsequent counsels." 
 
 The counsel for witness suggested that if it v^^ere shown 
 that the witness was at defendant's house consulting with 
 persons on the subject of Morgan's abduction, it might be 
 against him — it would bring home to him a knowledge of 
 the transaction. 
 
 The court replied — you think that this question may be 
 followed up by others that would involve him in a criminal 
 prosecution ; — when such are put to the witness, he may 
 refuse to answer — but he takes his stand too soon. 
 
 Messrs. Griffin and Barnard, counsel for the defendant, 
 contended that the question was improper in regard to the 
 defendant, as the form of it obliges him to answer as to a 
 matter of fact. Can the witness say that defendant was 
 consulted if he had only the confession of the defendant ? 
 
446 LETTER' XL. 
 
 And should the witness answer the question put to him in 
 the affirmative, the counsel may follow it Up and interrogate 
 him as to the manner of his knowing it. . If, then, he should 
 be required to answer, he might divulge the fact that he 
 communicated with the defendant himself— and thus crim- 
 inate himself and become liable to a criminal prosecution. 
 
 The Court again addressed the witness and told him that 
 his privilege must be overruled, and that he must answer 
 the question. Witness — " I will not answer." Court — " I 
 " shall punish you then." — Before directing the clerk to en- 
 ter the rule. Judge Marcy observed, that the witness was 
 liable to be indicted for every contempt, — and that each 
 one must be entered on the record, as he should direct the 
 District Attorney to find bills for each refusal separately. 
 
 The following record was then entered on the minutes 
 of the court.— 
 
 " Orsamus Turner, a witness in the cause of the People v. EzeJciel JietoeM," 
 having refused to answer the following question, " was the defendant one 
 of the persons consulted with in relation to separating Morgan from his 
 friends at Batavia, as a means of suppressing the contemplated publication 
 of a book concerning the secrets of Freemasonry," — after the court had 
 decided, that it was a legal and proper interrogatory for him to answer: — 
 The court do adjudge, that by such refusal he is guilty of contempt in open 
 court. It does, therefore, sentence him to pay a fine therefor^ of two hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars, and be imprisoned for the space of thirty days in the 
 jail of the county of Niagara."* 
 
 The examination of the witness being resumed, he was 
 asked — "Do you know that the defendant consented or 
 " agreed to prepare the magazine at Fort Niagara for the 
 " reception and confinement of William Morgan ?" — The 
 
 ♦ During Turner's confinement he was supplied by his masonic friends 
 with every luxury that the country could furnish, and that money could pro- 
 cure; he was constantly visited by his masonic brethren, and their wives 
 and daughters ; and at the expiration of his term of imprisonment, was con- 
 ducted from the jail to his residence in a coach and four, with attending 
 Masons, shouting at the triumph of crime over justice ! 
 
LETTER XL. 447 
 
 witness refused to answer this question. It being nearly the 
 same question as the other, he feared it might involve him 
 in a criminal prosecution. — By the court — "you are asked 
 whether the defendant did agree to prepare the magazine." 
 — The witness replied that it was a leading question, and 
 he could not answer it without danger. 
 
 The counsel for witness requested permission to consult 
 with him. — The court remarked, that the witness had im- 
 bibed strange and erroneous ideas, — that the court wished 
 to preserve the rights of the witness, but that the rigor of the 
 law must be enforced, if he refused to answer questions 
 pronounced to be proper ones by the court, from which he 
 is alone to receive the law. 
 
 The counsel for the witness thought the answer would 
 involve him in an indictment for murder. 
 
 The question, at the suggestion of the court, was varied 
 and put in the following form, — " Have you heard the de- 
 " fendant confess or admit that he had consented or agreed 
 " to prepare the magazine ?" Witness answered that he had 
 not — never heard him say that he had consented that the 
 magazine should be used for the confinement of William 
 Morgan. — ^The second question being again put, he an- 
 swered that he had no positive proof of it, — but refused to 
 tell what proof he had — and urged the same objections as 
 before. 
 
 The witness was then asked, " Do you know whether 
 *' the defendant was applied to for a place in or about Fort 
 " Niagara for the purpose of confining William Morgan ?" 
 — Witness refused to answer and claimed his privilege. 
 The court decided that he must answer. He still refused ; 
 whereupon the court proceeded to pass sentence on the wit- 
 ness for contempt — and he was sentenced therefor to impris- 
 onment in the jail of the county of Niagara for thirty days. 
 The witness not having property, the fine was not impos- 
 ed, as it would mitigate the punishment on the indictment. 
 
448 LETTER XL. 
 
 The examination of the witness being again resumed, he 
 stated that he never heard defendant, in conversation w^ith 
 others, one or more, admit that such application had been 
 made to him,-r-never heard defendant say that he had 
 agreed, to' prepare a place for Morgan, — and did not recol- 
 lect positively, that, in the presence of the defendant, he 
 had heard any person say, that the defendant had so 
 agreed — and did not know that the defendant was present 
 when the propriety of carrying off Morgan was discussed. 
 
 Witness being asked, " Have you ever been present at 
 " a conversation between two or more persons, at which 
 '* the defendant was present, on the subject of confining 
 " Morgan ?" refused to answer. The question being va- 
 ried, was finally put thus : " Were you ever present when 
 " the subject of preparing a place at Fort Niagara, or at 
 " any other place in the county of Niagara, was discussed 
 " in the presence of the defendant ?" The court decided 
 the question to be a proper one, and directed the witness to 
 answer it ; — but he urged his privilege, and refused — and 
 the court thereupon ordered another entry to be made of 
 contempt, and sentenced the witness to an imprisonment of 
 thirty days. 
 
 The examination being again resumed, witness was ask- 
 ed, " if he did not go to Fort Niagara in September, 1826, 
 " and see Jewett ?" but he again refused to answer. He 
 was then asked if " he did not swear so before the grand 
 " jury ?" The counsel for witness objected to the question, 
 and it was not pressed. 
 
 Eli Bruce was now called as a witness, but refused to 
 be sworn, saying, " he was once before sworn and exam- 
 *' ined, and no good came of it." The court adjudged him 
 guilty of contempt in open court, and sentenced him to im- 
 prisonment for the space of thirty days, in the jail of the 
 county of Ontario, — the witness being then a prisoner in 
 the custody of the sheriff of that county, and having been 
 
LETTER XL. 449 
 
 brought up to testify in this cause by a writ of Habeas 
 Corpus. 
 
 John Whitney being called as a witness, refused to be 
 sworn. The court sentenced him also- to imprisonment of 
 thirty days, and to pay a fine of two hundred and fifty 
 dollars.* 
 
 John Jackson was the next material witness called upon 
 this trial. He will be recollected as the person who went 
 to the magazine, in company with Giddings, on the morn- 
 ing after it was believed Morgan had been confined in the 
 fort. On being sworn, he was asked whether, on the morn- 
 ing of the 14th of September, 1826, he and Giddings, or 
 Giddings alone, went to the magazine, but he refused to an- 
 swer the question,believing it to be an improper one, which 
 might subject him to an indictment for an oftence of high 
 magnitude. 
 
 The court said he could not be prosecuted for the cfonspi- 
 racy ; a prosecution for that oflfence is barred by the statute. 
 
 Griffin — Witness does not wish to disclose the act for 
 which he fears a prosecution ; this is the very thing he 
 wishes to conceal. 
 
 Court — Do you suppose it would involve you in a pro- 
 secution for murder ? 
 
 The witness answered that he did not know how far it 
 would affect him ; did not know it would involve him in a 
 charge of murder. He had been told by Mr. Spencer, that 
 if he would tell all, he would protect him. 
 
 The Court — The witness cannot first presume an offence 
 to have been committed, and then claim a privilege not to 
 answer a question, on the ground that such answer would 
 involve him in a prosecution for a presumed offence. The 
 witness must know that a crime has been committed, before 
 
 ♦ While these sheets are passing through the press, I learn from a Lock- 
 port paper, that Bruce and Whitney have both been tried this spring, oii-inr 
 dictments for misdemeanors, in so refusing to be ^sworn, and have each been 
 fined therefor in the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 57 
 
450 LETTER XL. 
 
 he can claim the privilege. To claim the privilege on mere 
 presumption that such a result would occur, rendered wit- 
 ness guilty of perjury. If, how^ever, witness would brave 
 heaven and earth, and commit perjury, it could not be help- 
 ed. By answering, the witness need not admit that he 
 murdered Morgan ; but he must know it beyond a doubt. 
 
 Barnard — Every man in the community believes that a 
 murder has been committed. 
 
 The witness now requested permission to confer with 
 counsel, which was granted. On his return, he still refused 
 to answer the question. The court repeated that witness 
 must be well satisfied that a crime had been committed, be- 
 fore he could claim the privilege. 
 
 The counsel for the people here asked witness if he did 
 not testify on this point in open court, at Canandaigua? 
 Witness replied that he answered the same question, or one 
 of like import, on the trial of Bruce. 
 
 The court decided that if witness had once waived his 
 privilege, it could not grant him the privilege now. 
 
 Question repeated. " Did you go to the magazine on the 
 " morning of the 14th of September, 1826, before you went 
 « to Lewiston ?" Witness, after again consulting counsel, 
 said he did go towards the magazine, in company with ano- 
 ther person : might have gone within one rod of it ; it was 
 not defendant who went with him. 
 
 Q. " What was your object in going to the magazine ?" 
 Witness refused to answer, and the question was waived for 
 the present. 
 
 The question next put, was this : — " Was any thing car- 
 •* ried by the person who went with you to the magazine ?" 
 And here I think I can in no way convey to you so correct 
 an impression of the character of this extraol-dinary trial, 
 as l^y quoting the residue of the examination of Jackson, as 
 .?:reported by Mr. Cadwallader, of Lockport, and furnished 
 
LETTER XL. 45L 
 
 me by Judge Marcy. After the last mentioned question 
 was put, the examination proceeded as follows: — 
 
 " Witness thinks there was ; don't recollect exactly what; thinks he had a 
 basket in his hand ; don't recollect that he e.'.w what was in it ; it was co- 
 vered up with a cloth or brown paper ; did not see him carry a vessel with 
 drink in it ; does not recollect that he did so at any other time ; witness thinks 
 he did not carrj' a vessel containing drink towards the magazine ; it was a 
 small basket. The other man went up to the magazine; thinks he did not 
 see that person go into the magazine. Witness had to go by the window to 
 return ; the man did not return with him ; can't say positively that he saw 
 him come back ; saw him when he was within a few feet of the house ; can't 
 say whether he had the basket. At the magazine saw the man go towards 
 the door of it ; did not see any door unlocked; the outside door, which wit- 
 ness saw, he thinks was down, or partly opened ; the person was a little 
 ahead of him ; did not see him enter ; can't say positively but he did enter. 
 
 " Witness was next asked ' if he heard the person with him speak to any 
 person in the magazine?' He objected to answering. The court decided 
 that he must answer. Witness answered * he did ;' a person in the maga- 
 zine replied : thinks he did not hear a noise before or at the time he stopped; 
 don't recollect that the first he heard in the magazine was the above answer; 
 don't recollect that the person on the outside called the one in the magazine 
 by name ; don't recollect that he spoke to him as one he already knew. 
 
 " To a question, * What was the conversation that passed between the 
 person on the outside and the one on the inside ?' counsel for defendant ob- 
 jected, on the ground that defendant might be implicated by conversation to 
 which he was not a party, or which was not held in his presence. The coun- 
 sel for the people disclaimed any such intention : they did not wish witness 
 to detail aught that would criminate defendant, unless he were present: they 
 wished justice to be done, and nothing more. The court then instructed the 
 witness not to repeat any conversation that would go to implicate defendant, 
 unless it was held in his presence. 
 
 " Witness answers to question, that he ' dont recollect :' something waa 
 said : most forgets what : the import, to the best of his recollection, was *to 
 clear, to be off.' He " took the substance to be ' clear out,' and he did clear 
 out." Thinks the voice came from the magazine ; he did not stay for an an- 
 swer to be given ; he dropped what he had and ran : he dropped *a gun, a 
 fowUng-piece : got the fowling piece from Giddings : don't know that it was 
 loaded : the person with him requested him to take it along: took itjor the 
 purpose of going a hunting: had before concluded to go to the installation, 
 eight miles ! put a bag on him to carry the game in ! the person he went 
 with said, * let us go a hunting'' This was after breakfast. The voice 
 witness heard caused him to run| it * scared him!' thinks Giddings replied to 
 
452 LETTER XL. 
 
 it ; don't recollect the substance of the reply, nor any part ; recollects the 
 reply was very loud; don't recollect that it was threatening ; the object of 
 the reply might have been to order the man to be quiet ; can't be positive 
 whether it was or was not ; his language might have been that of a man 
 speaking in a commanding or threatening manner ; it is his impression that 
 it was to induce silence on the part of the man in the magazine ; heard the 
 voice, and then told his companion he would stay no longer, thinking it best 
 to be off; thinks the voice was as before stated ; don't think he staid to hear 
 the reply of his companion ; was surprised to hear the voice from the maga- 
 zine in that manner ; might not have been surprised if he had heard an ac- 
 companying voice ; it was the manner of the voice that induced him to run ; 
 lodged at his friend's house the night before ; don't recollect a carriage com- 
 ing to his house, nor near it, nor about it ; don't recollect now that any men 
 came to the house that night ; he was told so ; had no knowledge of it. 
 Witness before that time had been introduced to Colonel Jewett ; does not 
 recollect that he saw him at the fort the evening previous, nor before he went 
 to the installation ; in the morning the steam-boat was at the dock going to 
 Lewiston ; Giddings's family was going up ; Giddings was the man he went 
 with to the magazine ; believes the fort was left in care of Giddings ; when 
 the troops went off, Giddings was left in charge of the fort, some time be- 
 fore September, 1826 ; at the time of the installation, Jewett resided at the 
 mess house at the fort ; can't swear that he had charge of the fort at that 
 time. Witness went to the installation in the forenoon ; thinks he saw de- 
 fendant at Lewiston, and had conversation with him ; don't think he inform- 
 ed him of the noise ; had ' special orders' when he left Giddings ; heard a 
 noise in the magazine before he went to Lewiston , it was a few minutes af- 
 ter the first time ; it was a human voice; when he last heard the noise he 
 was passing by the magazine to go to Lewiston ; had an errand to do there ; 
 he was requested to inform certain persons there, that the man in the maga- 
 zine was making a noise ; Edward Giddings gave him the errand ; witness 
 did not communicate it to defendant at Lewiston, nor in his presence ; don't 
 know that it came to Jewett's ear that the man was confined in the maga- 
 zine, except by hearsay ; witness was requested to communicate his mes- 
 sage to certain persons who were named ; more than one or two ; not to the 
 whole installation; not to the defendant, nor to any one living at Lewiston. 
 
 " Witness don't recollect that the man that went with him to the maga- 
 zine had any weapon; he spoke about a pistol; he had a pistol ; don't know 
 as it was loaded ; when near the magazine, the man spoke to the person in 
 the magazine ; thinks he said, * be still ; be quiet ;' never recollected that 
 any thing was said to the man in the inside about the pistol. Witness com- 
 municated his errand but to one person at Lewiston. When the man in the 
 magazine said * be off!' Giddings wanted witness to stop. The man that 
 witness communicated his errand to at Lewiston, started to go to the fort. 
 
 " Cross-examined. Giddings at the houso had a pistol ; can't say he saw 
 it after they itarted," 
 
LETTER XL. 45S 
 
 Theodore F. Talbot and Bates Cooke were examined, as^ 
 to the appearances of the magazine, in March, 1827, when 
 it was visited by them, as a committee of examination. 
 They described the strength of the apartment, and the 
 marks of violence, as though some person had been confin- 
 ed therein, and made strong and violent exertions to force 
 the way out. . 
 
 A number of witnesses were introduced, among whom 
 w^ere Hiram Hubbard, Mrs. Hall, Cory don Fox, Mr. Perry, 
 Robert Mollineaux, and most of those named on the for- 
 mer trials, proving the abduction, and all the particulars of 
 the journey from Canandaigua to Niagara ; but in looking 
 over several columns of the testimony, I find no facts, not 
 already mentioned, worthy of note. 
 
 William P. Daniels, was likewise called again upon this 
 trial. He knew Solomon C. Wright ; but on being asked 
 if he was as Wright's house on the evening before the in- 
 stallation of the Lewiston Chapter, — (that is, when Morgan 
 was brought thither in the close carriage, and guarded in 
 the barn,) — he refused to answer the question, on the ground 
 that it might implicate him in a more serious crime than 
 that of a misdemeanor, — an indictment for the murder of 
 Morgan, as an accessory before the fact. The court again 
 explained the law, as in the instance of Turner's refu- 
 sal ; but the witness still refused to answer. He also, for 
 the reason above given, declined answering the inquiries 
 whether Eli Bruce, [and Jeremiah Brown, were at Wright's 
 on the occasion referred to. The court here again inter- 
 posed, and emphatically remarked, that unless the witness 
 was altogether certain, from evidence other than that gene- 
 rally known, that there was a murder committed, and that 
 he would be in danger of being indicted for it, upon the 
 knowledge afforded by his answer, he was guilty of perju- 
 ry, in claiming the privilege. " It is, therefore," continued 
 the court, " a question of perjury or not with you, — and 
 
454 LETTER XL. 
 
 " remember, if the laws of man cannot reach you, the laws 
 « of God will!"' The witness then replied: — "that he 
 " claimed his privilege only and directly upon the ground 
 " that his answer to the questions would, as he believed, im- 
 " plicate him in tjie murder of Morgan." This, he answer- 
 ed, he said " under his oath, and with an understanding of 
 *' the question." 
 
 Daniels was then asked if he had seen Elihu Mather or 
 Jeremiah Brown driving a closed carriage along the Ridge 
 Road, on the 13th of September, 1826. He objected to 
 answer, on the same ground as before. The court decided 
 that he must answer the question. He then consulted his 
 counsel, after which he replied — " no." Being farther press- 
 ed, he replied that he now thinks he saw a close carriage 
 pass, but does not know who drove it. Being asked if he 
 knew that Eli Bruce was in that carriage, and pressed 
 closely upon the question, he again consulted his counsel. 
 He afterwards replied that he believed Eli Bruce was in 
 the carriage. Being further pressed, he acknowledged that 
 his belief was so strong that he had no doubt that Bruce 
 was in the carriage. He was at the installation, but did 
 not recollect seeing the defendant, (Jewett,) there. He 
 might have talked with Jewett afterwards, about the con- 
 finement of Morgan in the magazine. 
 
 Hiram B. Hopkins, the former deputy of Bruce, was like- 
 wise sworn. In addition to the circumstances testified by him 
 on the former trials, he now disclosed the fact, that when he 
 was exalted to the Royal Arch degree, in the month of Au- 
 gust preceding the abduction, he was informed after taking 
 the obligation, of the intention of Morgan to disclose all their 
 secrets. He was told that means would be taken to sup- 
 press the book, and he was charged " to govern himself ac- 
 '* cordingly." 
 
 A great number of additional Matnesses were examined, 
 to prove a variety of corroborating facts and circumstan- 
 
LETTER XL. 455 
 
 ce^ of the case, which it would be a waste of time to enu- 
 merate. It was proved that the defendant was the person 
 in charge of the fort and public property, at the time of 
 Morgan's confinement ; but the prevarications and refusals 
 to answer, of the most important witnesses, whose testi- 
 mony, if honestly given, would beyond a doubt have estab- 
 lished the direct and positive guilt of the defendant, left the 
 case deficient in afiirmative lestimony sufficient to warrant 
 a legal conviction. It will be seen by the sketch I have 
 presented, that whenever a question was put, bearing hard 
 upon the conspirators, it was either evaded, or, after con- 
 sultations with counsel, not answered at all, on the ground 
 of privilege. 
 
 The cause was summed up by Messrs. White and Bar- 
 nard for the defendant, and Messrs. Whiting and Birdseye 
 for the people. 
 
 I have been obligingly furnished by Judge Marcy with 
 the notes of his charge to the jury in this case, and regret 
 that I have not leisure to transcribe it for your perusal. 
 The judge said it was an important cause, but derived its 
 importance less from the immediate consequences in which 
 it might involve the defendant, or the specific nature of the of- 
 fence imputed to him, than from the very extraordinary trans- 
 action which it has been necessary to disclose. The court 
 did not think it necessary, after six days of anxious applica- 
 tion, to recapitulate the whole examination ; and as to most of 
 the points of law, the judge said he had expressed his opin- 
 ions, in the hearing of the jury, in the progress of the trial. 
 He had been anxious to give, and in his judgment had giv- 
 en the prosecution the benefit of all the rules of law that 
 could aid in developing the facts involved in this trans- 
 action, tending in any way to show in a legal manner, the 
 defendant's participation in the abduction of Morgan. But, 
 while it was of vast importance to us all, that action and 
 energy should be given to our system, to which we owe 
 
456 LETTER XLI. 
 
 the security of life and property, yet there are rules for the 
 benefit of those who may be unfortunately involved in a 
 false charge for crimes — rules for the safety of innocence. 
 The most important of all these rules for the accused, is 
 the obtaining of an impartial jury. Upon this point great 
 pains had been taken ; and as that matter had been submit- 
 ted to the court, he had endeavored to admit no person 
 upon the panel, w^ho vv^as not wJiolly indifferent to the ques- 
 tion of the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The in- 
 dictment to be tried was for falsely imprisoning Morgan, 
 and conspiring to imprison and carry him to parts unknown. 
 There was no evidence to sustain either charge, unless the 
 jury should be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt, that 
 Morgan was in Fort Niagara. But no sort of connexion 
 between the defendant and those who took Morgan away 
 from Canandaigua, or those who had transported him 
 through that county, had been shown. In order to bring 
 the charge home to the defendant, it must be shown that 
 Morgan was actually confined in the fort, and that the de- 
 fendant had some agency in bringing him there, and con- 
 fining him. Or, if the defendant knew of his confinement 
 while it existed, and had command of the place where he 
 was confined, and did not interfere in any manner for his 
 relief, it would be a just inference of guilt. 
 
 The jury retired at about 1 1 o'clock on the evening of 
 the fifth day of the trial, and returned in a few moments 
 with a verdict of " Not Guilty." 
 
 I am, sir, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 
 New- York, March 23, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The court proceeded immediately with the trial of 
 
 Solomon G. Wright and Jeremiah Brown, both of whom 
 
LETTER XLI. 457 
 
 had been indicted for the misdemeanor of Morgan's abduc- 
 tion. Wright, it will be remembered, was the keeper of the 
 tavern at the junction of the road from Lockport, with the 
 Ridge Road — the house at which the kidnappers halted so 
 long, until Bruce joined them in the evening. A large par- 
 ty of Masons, as it has repeatedly been mentioned, assem- 
 bled at his house on that occasion. After a late supper, 
 they proceeded towards Lewiston, with the closed carriage, 
 which had been driven into Wright's barn, and kept guard- 
 ed, until their departure. The first witnesses examined, as 
 in most of the preceding trials, were the jailor and his wife, 
 from Canandaigua, and others, proving the abduction and 
 night journey t9 Hanford's Landing, and the passage of the 
 closed carriage along the Ridge Road to Wright's. Hi- 
 ram Hubbard's testimony was of the same forgetful and 
 dogged character as that heretofore given by the same wit- 
 ness, 
 
 David Maxwell, the keeper of the turnpike gate near by, 
 proved some mysterious conduct of Wright, at the time 
 the carriage stopped at his house. Brown, the other de- 
 fendant, was also abundantly identified, by various wit- 
 nesses, as one of the persons with the carriage, at Wright's, 
 and afterwards at Mollineaux's, where Bruce procured a 
 change of horses. Brown drove the carriage. 
 
 Mahala Farwell, who had testified to little purpose on 
 the trial of Jeweit, now made some admissions, respecting 
 the absence of her husband, which, though not bearing di- 
 rectly upon the case in hand, disclosed another instance of 
 the activity of the accused and their friends, in preventing 
 the attendance of witnesses. Her husband was believed to 
 be an important witness ; but although they had always 
 lived happily together, yet about three years ago, just be- 
 fore the holding of a court, he had left her. The belief 
 was, that he had been hired to abandon his wife for the 
 time being, and remain absent, until the affair should be over. 
 
 58 
 
458 LETTER XLI. 
 
 John Jackson was again sworn as a witness on the pre- 
 sent trial, and his testimony varied considerably in several 
 essential particulars, from what it was on a former trial. It 
 w^ill be recollected that he accompanied Giddings to the 
 magazine, on the morning of the 14th of September, 1826. 
 According to his present testimony, he took a gun, w^hen 
 they went to the magazine, and Giddings had a pistol, but 
 he did not see him take a pistol. He did not take any am- 
 munition, and knew not that the musket was loaded. When 
 Giddings went up to the magazine, witness remained sixty 
 or seventy feet off. He heard a man in the magazine, as 
 Giddings approached, saying " be off." The voice was 
 loud, and witness dropped his gun and walked off pretty 
 lively, because he was frightened, and thought it best to be 
 off. Witness did not recollect that Giddings mentioned the 
 name of Morgan; but he, (witness) was sent up to Lewis- 
 ton, where thai Masons were proceeding with the installa- 
 tion, with instructions to tell Col. King, and David Hague, 
 that the man in the magazine was making a noise, and they 
 must come down. As he departed for Lewiston, in pass- 
 ing the magazine he again heard the man making a noise. 
 He could hear his voice, but not the words — might have 
 heard him say " O dear !" 
 
 A sister-in-law of Wrighf s, named Hannah Farnsworth, 
 who cooked the supper for the party on the evening of the 
 13th of September, was now called as a witness. Great 
 pains had been taken to procure her attendance on the other 
 trials, for three yejirs previously, but without success. On 
 her present examination, notliing was elicited of impor- 
 tance. She did not recollect any circumstance, implicating 
 any person whatever. Indeed she said " she did not feel 
 particularly called upon to recollect !" William P. Daniels 
 was likewise again sworn upon this trial. After having 
 admitted that he saw Bruce pass on the Ridge Road with 
 the Qlpsed carriage, at about U o'clock on the night of the 
 
LETTER XLI. 459 
 
 13th, — he was asked — did you see Jeremiah Brown ? 
 Ans. " Can't say that I did or did not." The court object- 
 ed to this mode of answering the question, and required of 
 him to tell what he meant by " can't say." The witness 
 replied that he did not see him [Brown] on the Ridge Road : 
 and again, " supposed he did : believed he did : had no 
 " doubt it was the man now in court." He did not recollect 
 whether Brown drove the carriage or not. He was not 
 told by Bruce that Morgan was in the carriage ; but " be- 
 " fore the abduction he might have heard the subject dis- 
 " cussed by individuals, and he might have heard it spoken 
 " of at Batavia !" The reporter of this trial,*' a copy of 
 which has also been furnished me by the Judge who pre- 
 sided, as being in general correct, remarks, in regard to 
 this witness : — " We never heard a witness answer ques- 
 " tions with more reluctance than this man Daniels, and we 
 " never wish to see another like exhibition in a court of jus- 
 " tice, of a struggle for mastery between the influence of the 
 *^ Masons, and those of the whole community." 
 
 A conversation was proved by Daniel Pomeroy, between 
 Col. King and another man, to the following effect. Wit- 
 ness lived in the western part of the town of J^ockport, and 
 attended the installation at Lewiston. He arrived at that 
 place on the preceding evening, and took supper with Col. 
 King and others, at the " Frontier House." While there, 
 that evening, witness was introduced to a stranger, from 
 Rochester, whose name he did not now recollect. Witness 
 heard the stranger say to King, that some person would be 
 there that night. King and the stranger then walked to 
 another part of the house, and were engaged in conversa- 
 tion. The witness walked up to them afterwards, and heard 
 the stranger say, as he came up to them — " He will be here 
 " to-night." He did not recollect that the name of Morgan 
 
 * Mr. Cadwallader, editor of the Lockport Balance. 
 
460 LETTER XLI. 
 
 was mentioned in connexion with that remark, but the sub- 
 ject of Morgan's book was immediately introduced, and the 
 stranger observed, " two or three degrees were written," or 
 " published," (witness did not recollect which ;) but King 
 replied that " he would take care of him" King knew that 
 witness was a Mason. 
 
 The next witness examined was Theodore F. Talbot, 
 Esq., with whose name you must long since have become 
 familiar, as one of the most active members of the celebra- 
 ted Lewiston Committee if investigation. Talbot's ex- 
 amination w^as made in reference to a conversation which he 
 had had with one of the defendants, (Wright,) in March, 
 1827. Witness was then on a tour of investigation along the 
 Ridge Road, and called on Wright to request information 
 of such circumstances as might be in his possession, or 
 within his knowledge. It must be here borne in mind, that 
 Wright himself had been examined as a witness, on the 
 trial of Whitney and Gillis, and had then sworn that he 
 knew nothing in particular of the mysterious carriage which 
 arrived at his house on the afternoon of the 13th of Septem- 
 ber ; or of the carriage being driven into the barn ; or of 
 any particular reason for the assemblage of so many peo- 
 ple at his house, on that occasion ; or of the arrival of 
 Bruce there that evening. Very different was that testi- 
 mony from the admissions made by him to Talbot, in 
 March, 1827. Mr. Talbot's examination as to that con- 
 versation with Wright, was long and particular — from 
 which it appeared that to most of the questions he had put 
 to Wright, he made evasive replies, or gave no explana- 
 tions at all. He admitted that the carriage was driven to 
 his house, at the time specified, but did not admit that Jere- 
 miah Brown was with it, although he said Brown some- 
 times passed that way. But the circumstance of the cur- 
 tains being closed down, gave him no surprise. The col- 
 lection of so many people at his house, excited no attention. 
 
LETTER XLI. 461 
 
 Wright admitted to witness, that the fact of the singular 
 circumstances under which the carriage arrived, and the 
 fact that it was not driven up to the door, as was usual 
 with carriages, had excited some suspicions in the public 
 mind, but not with him. In answer to the question why 
 they drove the carriage into the barn, on so clear a night, 
 when there was a convenient shed, he replied that people 
 sometimes chose to have their carriages put in safe places. 
 He also had informed the witness in that conversation, that 
 he had himself opened the harn-doors, to admit the carriage^ 
 and that he unhitched the horses from the carriage with his 
 own hands. When asked why, inasmuch as he kept a hos- 
 tler to take that part of the labor, he had left his bar, where 
 there was a crowd of people, to perform these offices him- 
 self — and why, when he had met the hostler coming to the 
 barn with provender, he took it from him, to feed the hor- 
 ses himself, he gave no explanations whatever, nor did he 
 attempt to deny the facts. When asked if he did not think 
 it strange that travellers should have supped at his house, 
 and taken their departure thence at such a late hour, he re- 
 plied that travellers had a right to do as they pleased, and 
 he did not feel hurt about it. He told witness that the car- 
 riage returned about sun-rise the next morning — he did not 
 know the driver, but admitted that Jeremiah Brown was in 
 the carriage. But he had not asked Brown any questions. 
 He admitted that when the carriage was driven away in 
 the night, it did not come up to the steps to take in the pas- 
 sengers, and he admitted that he saw it drive away. Lo- 
 ton Lawson had been there at about that time — probably 
 coming from the west, the first or second day after the in- 
 stallation. I have given a very brief epitome of this ex- 
 amination, but it embraces all that is essential to the case, 
 and in the principal facts, the defendant's admissions and 
 declarations, soon after the outrage, were directly in con- 
 
462 LETTER XLI. 
 
 tradiction to his testimony as given on'the trial of Whitney 
 and Gillis. 
 
 A witness who was in the employ of the defendant, 
 Wright, testified, in substance, that he came in from work 
 rather earlier than usual on the evening in question, and 
 found a large collection of people at the house ;-^most of 
 them had sticks, which he thought very large ones to walk 
 with. Soon after he came in, he saw a movement, when 
 the whole company mounted their horses, and rode off on 
 the Ridge Road eastwardly ; — Wright did not go with 
 them, but some one rode his horse. In about ten or twen- 
 ty minutes afterwards, witness being up stairs, the compa- 
 ny returned, and as he thought there was an unusual bustle, 
 he went down, to see what they were about. He saw them 
 driving the carriage into the barn. The entrance was high 
 and difficult, and several persons took hold of the wheels 
 and body to thrust it in. The doors were then closed upon 
 it. There was much of whispering among the people, in 
 which Wright bore a part. Brown, the other defendant, 
 was also among them when they returned, and he heard 
 him declare to somebody — " it was a tedious job." They 
 took supper there : Bruce was amongst them, with Orsamus 
 Turner, the printer, of Lockport. The witness retired to 
 bed before the company departed, and he knew nothing 
 further that was material to the case. 
 
 Hiram B. IJopkins, David C. Miller, and a number of 
 other witnesses, were examined by the prosecution, but 
 their evidence was not material, and the prosecution rested. 
 
 The testimony offered by the defence had little to do 
 with the case, any farther than that the characters of both 
 defendants were shown to have been unexceptionable. In- 
 deed the counsel for the prosecution admitted this fact, ar- 
 guing therefrom, the evil tendency of the masonic institu- 
 tion, since, by its influence, feuch men had been involved in 
 
LETTER XLI. 463 
 
 these breaches of the law. The witnesses examined to 
 other points, were, 1st. James B. Lay, of Batavia. He was 
 present at Danold's tavern, on the morning of September 
 11, when Morgan was arrested and carried away to Canan- 
 daigua ; but he saw no violence, although he observed con- 
 siderable excitement. 2fL Johnson Goodwill, also of Bata- 
 via. He testified to the particulars of an interview with 
 Morgan, on Sunday, the 10th, when the latter voluntarily 
 introduced the subject of the book he was preparing. He 
 said he had been persuaded into the undertaking by Miller, 
 Davids, and Dyer, who had promised to supply him with 
 money, but had not done so. They had not treated him 
 well. He had undertaken the work on account of his pov- 
 erty, because he had no means of obtaining a living ; and 
 he would even then gladly relinquish and suppress it, if he 
 could get back his manuscripts. He had attempted to do 
 this, but Miller, he said, would not give them up. Morgan 
 expressed, very anxiously, a desire to be altogether rid of 
 Miller, and the witness offered him an asylum, with his fam- 
 ily, at his own house. He also assured Morgan that if he 
 was so poor, there would be no difficulty in providing means 
 for his support, provided he would get back his manuscripts, 
 and stop the work. In regard to his difficulties with Mil- 
 ler and Davids, Morgan said to witness, he had written 
 them a sharp note, which he was apprehensive was so 
 much in the form of a challenge that they might take the 
 advantage of him, by instituting a prosecution. The third 
 witness for the defence, was William R. Thomson, sheriff 
 of Genesee, at the time of Morgan's arrest. He corrobora- 
 ted the testimony of the last witness, respecting the difficul- 
 ties that existed between Morgan and Miller, and the strong 
 desire manifested by the former to get entirely clear from 
 the latter. The defence was rested here. 
 
 Messrs. Griffin and Barnard summed up for the defend- 
 ants, and Messrs. Birdscye and Whiting for the people. 
 
464 LETTER XLI. 
 
 Judge Marcy charged the jury with great clearness and im- 
 partiality, and the cause was submitted to the jury at the 
 close of the fourth day of the trial. The jury remained out 
 thirty-six hours, and then came into court with a verdict of 
 " Not Guilty" — to the astonishment alike of the Bench, 
 the Bar, and the People. There is not — there cannot be, a 
 particle of doubt, that both of the defendants were concern- 
 ed in the abduction, though not as principals. They knew 
 that Morgan was a free citizen under constraint, — held un- 
 der such constraint without legal process, — and they were 
 not only assenting to his being thus held in duress, but were 
 aiding and assisting. 
 
 It was understood that ten of the jurors were for con- 
 victing the defendants ; but the two obstinate members 
 solemnly declared that they would stay out and die, before 
 they would consent to a verdict of guilty ; and the ten ac- 
 commodating gentlemen yielded. While this jury was out, 
 a Mason was detected in conveying provisions, wrapped in 
 a cloak, to the two " faithful" members. He was arraigned 
 before the court, and promptly punished. 
 
 Just upon the heel of this trial, came out in the Anti- 
 masonic papers, another of those terrific tales of masonic mur- 
 der, which had previously been interspersed between the le- 
 gal transactions so frequently occurring in the progress of 
 Anti-masonry. It is a story of which I hardly know what 
 to make. That it was a masonic murder, perpetrated in the 
 same spirit with that which projected and executed the out- 
 rage upon Morgan, 1 am most unwilling — nay, I cannot 
 believe ; — and yet, there are most unpleasant features in the 
 narrative. The story is substantially this : — A Mr. Lemu- 
 el De Forest, said to be a well known and respectable inha- 
 bitant of the county of Livingston, published a deposition 
 embracing the following extraordinary statement. In the 
 summer and autumn of 1809, Mr. De Forest lived in Al- 
 bany, where he became acquainted with a man by the name 
 
LETTER XLI. 465 
 
 of Loring Simbnds, a sash-maker by trade, and who had 
 been in the army. He was in the employ of Mr. Lucas 
 Hooghkerk, a respectable master-builder, in Albany. Si- 
 monds, in the course of his familiar conversations with 
 De Forest, informed him that when he came to Albany, he 
 had fifteen or sixteen hundred dollars, which he entrusted 
 to some masonic friends, — a firm, — which failed soon after- 
 w^ards, and took the benefit of the act without paying or 
 securing to him the amount of a shilling. In revenge 
 for being thus swindled, by his brethren, he determined to 
 reveal the secrets of the masonic order, and he proposed to 
 instruct the deponent, De Forest, in the mysteries. They 
 were in the habit of meeting upon this subject, in an old un- 
 inhabited house, in Van Schaick-street,near the two-steepled 
 church. Simonds had taken three degrees, all of which he 
 was teaching to his friend De Forest. On one of these oc- 
 casions, Simonds had expressed an apprehension that he 
 might lose his life for what he w^as doing ; but the remark 
 was made rather sportively, and it passed off". After some 
 time had elapsed, on a Friday afternoon, when they were 
 in the old building, unobserved, as both supposed, Simonds 
 being engaged in giving him some illustrations of Masonry, 
 on a sudden a man by the name of Webb, an English- 
 man of about fifty years of age, known to both as a Mason, 
 came wearily up stairs, and exclaimed as he pointed at the 
 teacher of De Fores't, — " Simonds, you villain I You are a 
 *^ perjured wretch : I have caught you in the very act ; if I 
 
 "SHOULD CATCH YOU IN THE DARK, I SHOULD BE NONE TOO 
 
 " GOOD TO PUT A KNIFE INTO YOU !" Saying this,he turned 
 upon his heel and disappeared. Both parties were of course 
 startled at the surprise ; but Simonds trembled like an as- 
 pen leaf. His countenance changed to an ashy paleness, 
 and he staggered back to a seat. A pause oi a few mo- 
 ments ensued, when he said—" Well : I will not give it up 
 « so;" and after another short interval of silent astonishment, 
 
 59 
 
466 LETTER XLI. 
 
 they separated. On the very next morning, at about 10 
 o'clock, word was brought to De Forest that his friend was 
 dying at a gambling house in the Colonic, — now the fifth 
 ward of Albany. He hastened thither, and found Simonds 
 in the agonies of death ; — there was a rattling in his throat, 
 and green frothy matter was discharging from his mouth 
 and nose in copious quantities. While De Forest was 
 there, some eight or ten persons came in, and among them 
 a physician, who, after feeling his pulse, remarked that 
 his case was hopeless, and departed. Simonds died in the 
 afternoon, and a few friends made up a contribution for his 
 burial. No coroner's inquest sat upon his body ; his re- 
 mains were taken home to his house in Van Schaick-street ; 
 and interred on the following day, by the eight or ten per- 
 sons before referred to. Mr. Hooghkirk, his employer, su- 
 perintended the arrangements for the funeral, and was him- 
 self a high and active Freemason. The character of Si- 
 monds was good, and he left a wife and two or three small 
 children. Such is the story, as solemnly sworn to by a re- 
 spectable citizen. Mr. De Forest likewise declares that he 
 has never entertained a doubt of his friend having been 
 murdered by the Masons, for making the disclosures refer- 
 red to. And those disclosures, he adds, were in perfect 
 agreement with Moi'gan's illustrations. 
 
 The Anti-masons seized upon this tale as greedily as they 
 had done upon that of Miller, heretofofe related ; but it did 
 not make so deep an impression, or cause so lively an ex- 
 citement. The most remarkable feature of the tale is the 
 coincidence between his own previously expressed appre- 
 hension of evil; the discovery and threat of Webb; and 
 the sudden and violent death occurring immediately after- 
 wards. But tliis coincidence might very well have b^en 
 caused by the threat, and the foreboding. The operation of 
 fear, might have suddenly disordered his mind. Such a 
 result is not only physically possible, but physically proba- 
 
LETTER XLII. 467 
 
 ble ; and while in this situation he most likely used the 
 means of self-destruction. There is yet another circum- 
 stance : he was at a gambling house. Perhaps he had 
 spent his last shilling : nay, his sixteen hundred dollars 
 might have been lost by play. If so, what more natural, 
 or common, than that he should have preferred, in a mo- 
 ment of wretchedness and despair, to face death than a des- 
 titute wife and children ! Simonds, beyond a doubt, died 
 
 A SUICIDE ! 
 
 I am, sir, very truly yours. 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 New- York, March 25, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 There were several transactions in the year 1830, 
 which, though not exactly forming a part of the Morgan 
 history, are nevertheless entitled to notice, since they forci- 
 bly exhibit the spirit by which Freemasonry was actuated, 
 in all cases where the supposed rights of the craft were con- 
 cerned, or its rites and mysteries made the subject of le- 
 gal investigation. During the most feverish state of the 
 Anti-masonic excitement, a newspaper had been establish- 
 ed at Rochester, the avowed object of which was to vindi- 
 cate the Masons from the aspersions, as they were called, 
 of their antagonists, and to oppose the Anti-masons at all 
 points. This paper, which was conducted with more of 
 flippancy and smartness, than talent, was excessively 
 virulent in its course, and during the period that Mr. Spen- 
 cer discharged the duty of special counsel, he was the stand- 
 ing subject of its bitterest invective. The paper was es- 
 tablished by masonic contributions, and patronised al- 
 most exclusively by them. The cause of the persons in- 
 
468 LETTER XLII. 
 
 dieted for the conspiracy, was warmly espoused by it, and 
 they were represented as innocent and persecuted men. 
 On the conviction of John Whitney, the jury was grossly 
 libelled by this paper — (The Craftsman) — for which libel 
 the editor was promptly indicted. " He was tried on this 
 "indictment in January, 1830, when the jury could not 
 " agree on their verdict. It was afterwards ascertained that 
 " the disagreement proceeded from four Masons who were 
 " on the jury. He was again tried in June, 1830, when he 
 " did not even call a witness to prove the libels he had pub- 
 " lished, and he was convicted without hesitation, and fined 
 *' fifty dollars. The history of this case is introduced in 
 " consequence of its connexion with the main trials, and to 
 "exhibit one of the instances of the operation of masonic 
 " feeling in the jury box." 
 
 The trial of Calvin Cook vs. Harvey Cook at Fort Ann, 
 in Washington county, N. Y., in June, 1830, before Ben- 
 jamin Copeland, Esq., a magistrate of that town, will per- 
 haps illustrate still more clearly, and more unfortunately, 
 the influence of masonic obligations upon men who attach 
 an undue importance to the institution. The controversy 
 grew out of the Anti-masonic excitement. The parties 
 were cousins, and were both Masons — the former had sece- 
 ded, and the latter adhered. The unpleasant feelings first 
 engendered by this controversy, resulted in open feuds. 
 A succession of outrages were committed upon the doors 
 and machinery of the plaintiff^s mills, which were directly 
 charged upon the defendant. He was importuned by his 
 relative to desist, but is said to have replied that " he (de- 
 " fendant) should not wonder if plaintiff's house were burnt 
 " over his head, unless he seceded back from Anti-masonry." 
 A repetition of the trespass having occurred, after the ad- 
 monition and threat, an action was instituted for the recove- 
 ry of damages, for the various acts of violence attributed 
 10 the defendant. 
 
LETTER XLII. 469 
 
 The county of Washington had been, for a long time 
 previously, infected with Anti-masonry ; and the parties 
 ranged themselves on this trial with as much apparent zeal 
 and bitterness, as on the trials in the west. 
 
 A jury having been summoned, Erastus Day was chal- 
 lenged by the plaintiff for favor, on the broad ground of his 
 masonic obligations. This was overruled, and he was then 
 challenged for cause, and triers appointed. The proposed 
 juror, being sworn, was asked if he was a Mason. He re- 
 fused, at first, to answer the question ; but being admonish- 
 ed by the court, testified that he was, and that he had taken 
 seventeen degrees. Being interrogated as to various points 
 of obligation in the masonic oaths, he again refused to an- 
 swer ; and at length told the magistrate that he considered 
 his masonic oaths superior to the oaths he had just taken 
 before the court ! Sylvester Cone, the next witness, reso- 
 lutely refused, at first, even to be sworn. He finally con- 
 sented, however, at the solicitation of his friends ; but to 
 questions touching the secrets of the order he firmly refused 
 to reply ; and to those to which he answered, his replies 
 were dogged and reluctant. The same unwillingness is 
 said to have been manifested by five other witnesses who 
 were Freemasons. 
 
 . The plaintiff then called Messrs. William Brayton, Ben- 
 jamin Seeley, and Nathaniel Colver, who, it is presumed, 
 were seceding masons, and some of whom testified that in 
 the Royal Arch Oath, among the keeping of secrets, mur- 
 der and treason were not excepted ; and that the members 
 of the fraternity w^ere required to help each other out of 
 difficulty, right or wrong ; and also to promote their politi- 
 cal preferment. 
 
 The report of the trial from which my information re-, 
 specting this case is principally drawn, and which should 
 probably be received with some grains of allowance, 'pro-r 
 ceeds to state, as follows; 
 
470 LETTER XLII. 
 
 " Several circumstances transpired during. this trial, to illustrate the pecu- 
 liar nature of the masonic fraternity, and their dread of investigation. Every 
 Mason, sworn or called as a witness, seemed unusually anxious to give his 
 opinion^ that tliere was nothing wrong in Masonry, and that there was no- 
 thing wrong in the oaths, which he thought ought to disqualify a man from 
 sitting as a juror; and they seemed grieved to the heart, that they should 
 not be allowed to crowd their opinions down the throats of the triers, as in- 
 dubitable evidence. Biit when called upon to let the triers have the plain 
 undisguised facts about Masonry, or masonic oaths, they were as silent as 
 the grave. While on the other hand, the other witnesses seemed unwilling 
 to express any opinion, but wished to state the facts, and let the triers have 
 them, upon which to judge. On the second day, Mr. Colver was called as 
 a witness,- and cross-examined by Mr. Gibbs. He was asked, ' did you 
 ever take an oath which you supposed would bias you as a juror ?' He re- 
 plied, * I will tell you what oath 1 did take, and the triers may judge of it 
 themselves; I took an oath in these very words' Here he was stop- 
 ped by the counsel, saying, 'I don't want the oath, I want your opinion^ 
 whether you supposed the oath would bias you as a juror ?' Mr. Colver said, 
 if the court decided he should give an opinion to the triers, he would give it 
 with pjeasure ; otherwise he was unwilling to obtrude any opinion upon 
 them, but would state the facts, and the points in the oath, and let the triers 
 form their own opinion. But Mr. Gibbs urged the question ; the counsel 
 for the plaintiff withdrew his objection, and Mr. Colver answered, * 1 did 
 take an oath, which, upon reflection, I was satisfied was designed, and di- 
 rectly calculated to set the laws of God and man at defiance.' Mr. Gibbs 
 did not ask for a second opinion." 
 
 Much feeling was eddent during the trial, and that of 
 not the most pleasant description. At times there was an 
 exhibition of passion on the part of the sticklers for Free- 
 masonry, and a degree of sensitiveness, really surprising, 
 when we consider the comparative unimportance of the 
 occasion. Frequently the proceedings were interrupted by 
 the intrusiveness of the friends of the defendant, and the 
 witnesses were openly and repeatedly told not to answer 
 the questions. The court, also, was chided for allowing 
 such questions to be put. But it is needless to particularize 
 all the embarrassments that were thrown in the way of 
 the proceedings. After the examinations were ended, 
 the question as to the competency of the juror, on the score 
 of impartiality, was summed up on both sides, and was 
 
LETTER XLil. 471 
 
 thereupon submitted to the triers under a charge from the 
 court. After mature dehberatibn, the triers returned with 
 the decision that Erastus Day did not stand indifferent to the 
 parties litigant, and he was rejected from the jury. 
 
 When.thie trial had proceeded for some time, a question 
 of title became involved in the cause, which at once took it 
 from the magistrate's jurisdiction; and there, so far as lam 
 informed, the matter ended. 
 
 This trial, though unconnected with the Morgan business, 
 was yet one of the fruits of the Anti-masonic excitement, 
 and though unimportant in its results as to the parties im- 
 mediately concerned, was nevertheless far from being un- 
 important, in its bearing upon the masonic institution. It 
 appeared but too clearly from the testimony, that the Ma- 
 sons in Washington county, have taken their obligations in 
 their worst forms, — I mean as they have been altered for 
 the worse, by ignorant and designing men, without the sanc- 
 tion of the higher bodies to which the lodges and chapters 
 owe obedience. It was also proved, beyond contradiction, 
 that where the obligations resting upon Freemasons, have 
 been so given, so received, and so understood, by its vota- 
 ries, they may very frequently, and very materially, inter- 
 fere with the impartial and due administration of the laws. 
 It was on this occasion asserted, and I have never heard • 
 the assertion contradicted, that the Masons present on the 
 trial held their obligations to be paramount to the laws of 
 the land ; and even had the hardihood not only to set at de- 
 fiance, but to brave the court in terms ; — and when solemn- 
 ly sworn to answer such questions as should be put to them, 
 refused peremptorily to answer at all ! 
 
 Und^r all the circumstances of the case, I am constrain- 
 ed to admit, that the juror in the foregoing cause was pro- 
 perly rejected ; and every Freemason who has taken the 
 oaths as the Masons at Fort Ann seem to have done, and 
 who regards them in the same sense, and holds them in the 
 
47% 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 same estimation of superiority to the civil law, may justly 
 be considered as having disqualified himself from sitting as 
 an impartial juror, w^here his masonic brethren are on trial. 
 The next movement of the Anti-masonic party w^as pure- 
 ly political. A governor, lieutenant governor, and mem- 
 bers of Congress were to be elected, together with senators 
 and representatives of the state legislature. For the pur- 
 pose of nominating candidates for the two former offices, 
 and making general preparations for the contest through the 
 counties, another Anti-masonic State Convention was held 
 at Utica, on the 11th of August, 1830. Forty-five coun- 
 ties were represented by one hundred and eleven delegates — 
 constituting in all respects a very intelligent and respectable 
 body. Francis Granger was once more nominated for go- 
 vernor, and Samuel Stevens, of New- York, for the second 
 office. Mr. Granger had been previously nominated by a 
 primary meeting of the National Republicans of Suffolk 
 county, for the same station ; and both nominations were of 
 a character so entirely unexceptionable, that the great body 
 of the National Republican party felt disposed to give them 
 a cordial and hearty support. With the National Republi- 
 cans, whose attention was directed to the maintenance of 
 the great fundamental principles of the federal constitu- 
 tion, now believed to be in imminent pjeril, and with whom 
 state politics were consequently of but minor consideration, 
 the question of Masonry or Anti-masonry, was looked up- 
 on as of very little comparative importance. So that the 
 honor of the nation, and the federal constitution, could be 
 preserved, untarnished and unbroken, with a party which 
 was contending for principle, without regard to personal 
 considerations, it was a matter of but small moment, whe- 
 ther the state officers were Freemasons, or their opponents. 
 No other persons, therefore, were nominated in opposition to 
 the candidates of the friends of General Jackson's adminis- 
 tration ; and a confident hope of success was indulged by 
 
LETTER XLII. 473 
 
 the friends of the union ticket. But these hopes were not 
 reahzed. In the western country, where Anti-masonry first 
 sprang into existence, and where it had taken the deepest 
 root, the united friends of Mr'. Granger carried every thing 
 before them. The holy day legions of the Persians were 
 not more completely routed by the phalanxes of the impe- 
 tuous Macedonian, than were the partizans of Governor 
 Throop, and the friends of General Jackson, in the country 
 west of the Cayuga. In the western senatorial district, the 
 vote for the National Republican and Anti-masonic candi- 
 dates, was more than two to one. Mr. Granger crossed 
 the Hudson, coming east, with a majority of 1400. But 
 in proportion as Anti-masonry had become purely political, 
 so had Freemasonry, from the mere fact of feeling itself 
 persecuted- and oppressed, become in a measure political 
 also ; and as it w^as impossible to make the whole public 
 perceive that considerations of national importance were 
 involved in what was wholly a state election, thousands 
 and thousands of the National Republicans who yet adher- 
 ed to Freemasonry in the central counties, cast their votes 
 for the Jackson candidates, — not from any affection for 
 those candidates, or from approbation of their principles, — 
 but from strong unmingled hatred to Anti-masonry. The 
 result was fatal to the candidates in opposition. Instead of 
 polling, jointly, as we might well have done, 132,000 votes, 
 our candidates received only 120,000, and a fraction ; while 
 the numbers of our opponents were swelled by our own po- 
 litical friends, to the number of 128,000 and upwards. Of 
 the number, 120,000, received by Mr. Granger, it is a fair 
 allowance to say that 75,000 were the votes of real Anti- 
 masons. This result was greatly to be deplored by the 
 National Republican party, from more considerations than 
 a simple defeat. It gave their opponents an artificial ap- 
 pearance of strength, well calculated to draw over to them 
 the selfish and the wavering, whose business it is to watch 
 
 60 
 
474 LETTER XLII. 
 
 the political tides, ar^d whose practice is to float with the 
 popular current. It also had the further effect of strengthen- 
 ing our opponents, by the accession of all those whose princi- 
 ples sit lightly upon them, and who, having once voted with 
 that party, might easily be induced to suppose it would re- 
 dound to their ultimate interest to continue with their new 
 associates. 
 
 The case of the Cooks, related in the earlier part of the 
 present letter, is not the only transaction connected with 
 the Anti-masonic question, and deserving of note, which 
 occurred in that section of the state in the year 1830. A 
 few weeks previously to the election just spoken of, the 
 public were surprised by a statement from the north, of 
 another masonic outrage, which, but for a seemingly spe- 
 cial interposition of Providence, would have been still fur- 
 ther aggravated by an atrocious murder ! The story was, 
 that an attempt had been made upon the life of a respecta- 
 ble clergyman, by the name of Witherell, (who had re- 
 nounced the order of Freemasonry,) by his offended breth- 
 ren of the " mystic tie/*^ In the first instance, few if any 
 persons in this section of the state, were disposed to give 
 credence to the tale. The death of Morgan, for having re- 
 vealed the secrets of the order, was not doubted ; but so 
 many persons had renounced their connexion with the in- 
 stitution subsequently to that event, and the boasted secrets 
 were so universally known, by all who- had had suificient 
 curiosity to inquire into them, that the possibility of another 
 masonic outrage, for such a cause, had not been thought of. 
 Nevertheless, the story was greedily caught up by the An- 
 ti-masons, and the best use made of it, to promote their 
 cause during the election ; while the opposite party was 
 equally active in discountenancing the narration, either as 
 a fiction, or an imposture. The publications were so nu- 
 merous, violent and contradictory, that, for one, — and I be- 
 lieve I was not alone in my doubts, — I knew not what to 
 
LETTER XLII. 475 
 
 make of the affair. If the relation was true, it was a very 
 serious matter : if false, no ordinary punishment would ha;ve 
 been too severe for the authors of the falsehood. It was evi- 
 dent, however, from the conduct of the adhering Masons 
 who were acting politically with the administration party, 
 that there was some foundation for the tale ; and among 
 other devices for counteracting its influence upon the elec- 
 tion, the report of a formal trial was got up and published 
 throughout the state, minute in all its relations of time, 
 place, circumstances, the names of parties, witnesses, &c., 
 in which it appeared to have been proved that the whole 
 story of the outrage was a fabrication, or that it had been 
 committed by som emember of the Elder's own family, pro- 
 bably with the knowledge of the whole. Before the polls 
 had closed, however, the fact was disclosed that this report- 
 ed trial, in all its details, was in itself a deliberate forgery ! 
 There were, nevertheless, some subsequent legal proceed- 
 ings in the premises, of a very extraordinary character, a full 
 report of which, of formidable length, was published by a 
 committee of the citizens of Washington county, early in 
 the year 1831. Still, this publication was considered alto- 
 gether ex parte ; it was too long for general perusal ; and 
 made but little impression upon the public mind. For my- 
 self I yet knew not what to believe ; but as the case was 
 one coming within the scope of my present investigations, 
 I resolved to probe it to the bottom. With this view I ad- 
 dressed a letter some weeks since, to a distinguished and 
 valued friend, residing in the neighborhood where the trans- 
 actions were said to have taken place, for such an account 
 of the strange and yet mysterious aftair, as might be fully 
 depended upon. The following ample letter reached me a 
 few days since, in answer to my inquiries. I submit it to 
 your consideration, with the fullest assurance that my cor- 
 respondent is a man of the strictest integrity,- and the most 
 scrupulous veracity : — 
 
476 LETTER XLII. 
 
 " In answering your request to communicate to you ' all I know' in rela- 
 tion to the alledged outrage upon the family of Elder George Witherell, I 
 have to remark, that it is a long story, and a minute detail would weary both 
 you and myself. Your request implies a doubt of the truth of the history of 
 that transaction, and the circumstances growing out of it, already before 
 the public. How shall I assure myself that my narration will be thought 
 entitled to more credit? At the same time, I feel that the request has been 
 made in the sincere desire to learn the truth, and it implies also a friendly 
 confidence in the source to which you have applied for information. Under 
 the influence of the feelings prompted by these reflections, I have resolved 
 to attenript a compliance. The task truly is somewhat formidable, and its 
 execution, while it dissipates your doubts, wiJ excite your astonishment and 
 may exhaust your patience. 
 
 "You inquire who is Mr. Witherell? It is a pertinent question, and de- 
 serves a specific answer. He is a Baptist elder ; and for the last ten or 
 twelve years has presided over the Baptist^churchin the town of Hartford. 
 In that station, he has, during all this time, been a faithful and respectable 
 minister of the gospel, administering its ordinances, and teaching its doc- 
 trines to a numerous and intelligent community of christians. Hartford is 
 a rich agricultural town, in this county, and Elder Witherell'a society con- 
 sisted principally of its farmers, distinguished for their sobriety, religious de- 
 votion and industrious habits. In this town, are two small villages, distant 
 about a mile from each other. In one of them the Elder's church is located, 
 near which he resides. In the other village, there is a Presbyterian church. 
 In both, is the ordinary number of professional gentlemen, justices, petti- 
 foggers and constables, with a competent provision of stores, taverns and 
 mechanic's shops. Here, too, is a masonic lodge. The members of the Bap- 
 tist church being principally farmers, lived dispersed through the town, at 
 some distance from the village, while their inhabitants belonged to no par- 
 ticular denomination of christians. There were the clerks, bar-tenders, 
 ostlers and apprentices. I state these circumstances, because I think they 
 contain important testimony, furnishing some explanation of an extraordina- 
 ry transaction, still shrouded in mystery and darkness. A large portion of 
 these villagers were, and still are, members of the masonic fraternity, and 
 among them were some of the leading members of the Baptist church. Un- 
 der these circumstances, it was not surprising, that Elder Witherell yielded 
 to the same inducements which have led so many clergymen of our country, 
 to seek light and knowledge in the lodge. He became a Mason,— and not 
 discovering the anticipated revelations in the lower degrees, he pressed for- 
 ward to detect those that were concealed in the higher. He advanced to 
 the degree of Knight Templar, and as you may reasonably suppose, was 
 cherished and caressed by the lay members, as a worthy and accepted 
 brother. 
 
LETTER XLII. 477 
 
 " This was the relation in which Elder Witherell stood, to the community 
 in which he lived, when the storj' of the abduction and murder of Morgan, 
 astonished the public by its boldness and atrocity, and directed its inqui- 
 ries to the constitution and character of Freemasonry. The Baptist de- 
 nomination of christians in our country, have been foremost in subjecting 
 Freemasonry to the test of religious discipline. A large majority of Mr. 
 Witherell's church knew, indeed, that their pastor was a Mason, but knew 
 nothing of Masonry, Save from its recent developements at the west, and the 
 publications of the day. They called upon their elder to aver or deny their 
 truth. Like most other Masons, whose consciences have been awakened 
 to the subject, he hesitated between the responsibilities of his masonic obli- 
 gations and association, and the convictions of religious duty. He propos- 
 ed to abstain from any further communications with the lodge, but asked to 
 be excused for the present, from a more decided renunciation. With such 
 evidence before them of the character of the institution as recent events fur- 
 nished, this did not satisfy his church. In the mean time , the neighboring 
 Masons, both in and out of his church, were apprised of what was going on, 
 and made a vigorous rally to support their brother in the conflict to which 
 he was exposed. They offered to add two hundred dollars to the stipend 
 paid him by his church, and to make good that stipend, should it be with- 
 drawn, or he be dismissed by his congregation. The reward offered, (to 
 give it no harsher name,) was raised by contribution, bearing the names of 
 some of the county officials, residing more than ten miles distant, and who, 
 far from being Baptists, seldom visited any church. The character of the 
 transaction, as M'ell as that of the contributors, fortifies the assertion, that 
 the object was to sustain Masonry, rather than to support a christian minis- 
 ter. They were more anxious that the Elder should maintain hi» fellowship 
 with the lodge than with the church. 
 
 " Butj finally, aftei- a severe mental conflict, a sense of duty prevailed 
 over considerations of interest, and the Elder publicly renounced Freema- 
 sonry and forfeited the pecuniary reward. Ii»« Biasonic apostacy instantly 
 exposed the Elder to the usual privations and disabilities. He encountered 
 at once, the most active and vindictive resentments and persecutions of the 
 entire masonic fraternity, of his own and the adjoining towns. They with- 
 drew their subscription and their fellowship — stigmatized him as 'a fool,' 
 for having forfeited such pecuniary advantages ; and as a 'perjured scoun- 
 drel,' for haying violated his masonic obhgations. 
 
 "It was immediately given out by the riiost prominent Masons of the 
 village, Uhat Elder Witherc'', conldnot reside there ;^ and so far as personal 
 abuse, threats and intimidations could prevail, they seemed resolved to ful- 
 fil their own prediction. 
 
 "In this uncomfortable posture of affairs, in the casual absence of the 
 Elder, on the 27th of September, 1830, at or about the hour ofmidnightj 
 
478 LETTER XLII. 
 
 two men disguised in masks, with a dark lantern, armed with a dirk-cane, 
 or long knife, so polished as to reflect the light, entered the Elder's house, 
 wandered from one door to. another, leading to the chauiber and adjoining 
 rooms, and shortly entered the bed room of Mrs. AVitherell. One instantly 
 seized her by the throat, and while seeming to make a pass at her head with 
 the other hand, exclaimed, ' you damned perjured scoundrel, you shall suffer the 
 ^penalties of your obligations.'' The other, holding the dark lantern, and the 
 knife or dirk, presented the light to the bed. They immediately left the 
 house^ on discovering that the Elder was absent. They wore no hats, and 
 their disguises appeared like black silk handkerchiefs, tied over their faces 
 and heads. Mrs. Witherell was at this time, alone, with her family of small 
 children, the eldest of whom, George R. Witherell, a lad then about fourteen 
 years of age, slept in an adjoining room ; on hearing the exclamation in his 
 mother's bed room, he sprang from his bed, terrified and cried out, * father 
 * have you come home ! father have you come home !' You ask me, if I be- 
 lieve that this outrage was actually conimitted? I answer, that the evidence 
 and circumstances of the case do not admit of a rational doubt. The facts 
 already stated, it is true, depend, of necessity, upon the testimony of Mrs. 
 Witherell and her son, whose veracity had never before been questioned, 
 and cannot, how, be impeached. It will hete be remembered, that the Ma- 
 sons themselves, had already borne ample testimony to the good reputation 
 of the Elder and his family, by their great exertions to retain him in their ser- 
 vice. But there were independent circumstances proved by other witnesses, 
 which cannot lie, and which remove all doubt, if any existed. The boy imme- 
 diately alarmed the neighborhood, and a Mr. Smith and Mrs. Chase came in. 
 It was a rainy night, muddy foot-steps were distinctly imprinted upon the floor 
 and traceable from the house, and the track of a waggon could also be fol- 
 lowed some rods, where it was lost upon a hard surface of slate or gravel. 
 Another characteristic occurrence was a shrill whistling heard at the same 
 time, apparently in a remote field. These facts were proved both by Mrs. 
 Chase and Mr. Smith. At the time, too, the facts were not denied, and 
 seemed, undeniable. The Masons, instead of contradicting, were most anx- 
 jous to resist the impUcation against themselves, by charging the transaction 
 to a conspiracy of the Anti-masons with the elder, and to this effect they in- 
 dustriously circulated the story in all directions, the next morning, to the 
 distance of many miles. The character of Elder Witherell, and his friends 
 in Hartford, forbids the indulgence of the shghtest suspicion of this kind, 
 especially in the absence of any assignable motive. This additional oulrage 
 was not needed to strengthen their abhorrence or confirm their condemna- 
 tion of Masonry. Besides, the charge of conspiracy, thus hastily alledged, 
 indicated, a consciousness of guilt, or at least a just suspicion of it. 
 
 " To repel tliis sudden and infamous charge, and in compliance with the 
 advice of friends, the affidavits of Mrs. Witherell and her son, stating their 
 iinowledge of tlie transaction as it occurred, were drawn up, and Slade D. 
 
LETTER XLII. 470 
 
 Brown, Esq., a Royal Arch Mason, residing in the same village, requested 
 to administer the oath. This he declined Jot want of jimsdiction^ and because 
 he would not administer an extra-judicial oath I ! 
 
 " A similar application was made to Solomon S. Cowen, Esq., another 
 justice of Hartford, (not residing in the village,) and another Royal Arch 
 Mason. And he, too,' refused to administer an extra-judicial oath ! ! These 
 proceedings were had at an informal meeting, composed indiscriminately of 
 Masons and Anti-masons, some of whom were from the adjoining town of 
 Fort Ann. 
 
 " On the refusal of these Royal Arch Justices to administer an extra-judi- 
 cial oath ! recourse was had to Arhoa T. Bush, Esq., of Hort Ann, who, not 
 being a Mason, was less scrupulous. He administered the oath, and the 
 affidavits were made and published. The citizens of Fort Ann^ for the pur- 
 pose of searching out the agents in this nefarious transaction, instituted a 
 committee of investigation, composed of Masons and Anti-masons. Subse- 
 quent events soon evinced the zeal and sincerity of the masonic part of this 
 committee, not in searching out the perpetrators of the outrage, but in sus- 
 taining Freemasonry against the influence of the aforesaid affidavits. . They 
 repaired hastily to Hartford, and there, with the above mentioned Royal 
 Arch justices, and. other Masons, plotted a most extraordinary conspiracy. 
 It was thought indispensable to prostrate the reputation of Mrs. Witherell, 
 and her son. To this purpose, the authority of office, and the forms of law, 
 were made subservient. No circumstance had yet transpired directing even 
 suspicion against any individual, and no person could therefore make the re- 
 quisite oath, charging any individual with offence. The object, therefore, 
 was not to detect and punish the alledged offence, but to institute the form 
 of a legal proceeding, for the sole purpose of impeaching the witnesses call- 
 ed to prove the charge. It would be difficult to explain how such a scheme 
 could be executed without perjury, and the gross violation of official duty. 
 It was nevertheless devised, and executed, under the counsel and active par- 
 ticipation of the magistrate who was to act the part of the examining justice. 
 But the co-operation of the person who was to play the criminal, was as in- 
 dispensable as that of the justice, and he was selected by concert and agree- 
 ment, and his consent obtained! Benjamin Hyde, the village tavern-keep- 
 er, and also a Royal Arch Mason, was first proposed, and Solomon S. Cow- 
 en, ^sq,, who afterwards took part in the pretended examination, actually 
 apphed to him to stand criminal. The tavern-keeper very properly declined 
 the honor, not from a motive indica^tive of a high sense of honor or proprie- 
 ty, but from an apprehension that it might injure his tavern. An applica- 
 tion to Alonzo Hyde, his son, was more successful. He entered into the 
 plan with great readiness. The scheme was now fully matured. Slade D. 
 Brown, the said justice, drew the complaint, setting out the principal facts 
 stated in the affidavits of Mrs. Witherell and her son. Colonel John Hilli- 
 but, of Fort Ann J a Royal Arch Mason, made oath that he believed them 
 
480 LETTER XLII* 
 
 true. Alanson Allen, another Royal Arch Mason, swore that he ' was in- 
 
 * formed that it was nimored, or reported, or suspected that Alonzo Hyde was 
 
 * one of the persons implicated.^ On this vague bath, the said justice issued 
 his warrant in the name of the people, and young Hyde was arrested. All 
 the parties to this afiair, thus far, except young Hyde, were Royal Arch Ma- 
 sons, and all this was done with the full knowledge by the said justice and 
 all the parties, that young Hyde was not even suspected of the offence. 
 
 "The conspiracy against Elder Witherell and his family, is prominent and 
 palpable. The court was organized, and what followed was in good keep- 
 ing with what has been already related. Process was issued for Elder Wi- 
 therell, his wife, and son, to appear as witnesses in behalf of the people. 
 They were arrested and taken into custody, and the prisoner Hyde permitted to 
 go at large I Elder Witherell and his wife were confined in separate apart- 
 ments, on pretence of ensuring their attendance, and of preventing concert- 
 ed testimony. They were examined in succession in a manner comporting 
 with the character of the whole proceeding, and its obvious design. Three 
 days were expended in questioning and cross-questioning these three wit- 
 nesses. They were subjected to every possible privation and indignity, and 
 treated like culprits rather than witnesses. They bore the whole with due 
 patience and meekness, and repeated over and over again the same story 
 detailed in their affidavits. Of course, not one word was testified implicat- 
 ing young Hyde, or any other known individual. And yet a multitude of 
 masonic witnesses were called to impeach their credibility. And this same 
 family, whom but a few weeks before, these same Masons were anxious to 
 retain among them, and for which purpose they had actually raised a hberal 
 subscription, were now pronounced, by them, infamous and unworthy of 
 credit for repeating on this examination, the same story detailed in their affi- 
 davits. It will here be remembered, that these affidavits had been taken 
 after an open public examination, and that tlie oath of Colonel John Hillibut, 
 one of the fraternity, affirming his belief of their truth, was the sole basis 
 upon which all these proceedings rested. A parallel cannot be cited in the 
 history of jurisprudence. A more gross perversion of the forms of law, and 
 of official authority, for the purposes of slander, and detraction, and malevo- 
 lence, and oppression, has never been practised. The court gravely discharg- 
 ed the prisoner, but convicted the witnesses for the people, by solemnly ad- 
 judging them unworthy of credit, and that no outrage had been committed ! 
 A long report of the trial was immediately drawn out by Mr. Justice Brown, 
 and' the testimony discolored and misrepresented in a manner to further the 
 design of the examination. This was forthwith published in all the masonic 
 papers throughout the state. Not to exhaust your patience, and to confine 
 myself within reasonable limits,! am constrained to exclude several charac- 
 teristic features of the transaction, and all the detail of the testimony. These 
 have already been given to the public in a minute and able report upon the 
 subject, dr^wn up by a committee of gentlemen appointed for the purpose, 
 
LETTER XLII, 481 
 
 by a convention of the Anti-masons of the county of Washington, to which, 
 for more specific information, I beg leave to refer you. 
 
 . " On«a review of the whole affair, it must occur to every one, that the out- 
 rage of breaking and entering the private dwelling of Elder Witherell, * in 
 * the night time, and putting his family in fear,' scarcely exceeded the profli- 
 gacy of the pretended examination. It must ever remain doubtful which 
 was the greater offence against private right and public justice and decency. 
 It is to little purpose that the first should be denied, while the last stands 
 confessed." 
 
 -The letter of my friend bears its own commentary upon 
 its face. As to the outrage itself, its objects, and the names of 
 its authors, are alike shrowded in doubt and mystery. Of 
 the conduct of the Masons,, however, subsequently, there 
 can be but one opinion. 
 
 In November of the present year, (1830,) James Gillis, 
 in whose case the jury had not, on a former occasion, been 
 able to agree, was again tried at the Ontario Sessions, and 
 acquitted. No objections were raised by the special coun- 
 sel to the sitting of Masons as jurors upon this trial. Gil- 
 lis, it may be recollected, had removed from the state, to the 
 southwestern part of Pennsylvania, shortly after the out- 
 rage. He took with him an important witness, whom those 
 interested managed to keep away. The consequence was, 
 that on this second trial, all the testimony against him was 
 of a circumstantial character only, and was not considered 
 sufficiently strong to justify a conviction. 
 
 At the opening of the session of the legislature, January 
 5th, 1831, the Governor again, and probably for the last , 
 time, directed the attention of that branch of the govern- 
 ment to the subject of these prosecutions. He mentioned ' 
 the resignation of the special .counsel in May, as an event 
 equally sudden and unexpected ; and as he had " deemed 
 « it his duty to omit no proper measures for the vigorous 
 " prosecution of those trials," he announced the appoint- 
 ments of Messrs. Birdseye and Whiting, to continue the 
 legal proceedings left unfinished by Mr. Spencer. 
 
 61 
 
482 LETTER. XLII. 
 
 " It was much to be regretted," his excellency said, "that the ample 
 provisions heretofore made by special statutes, to punish the actors in this 
 conspiracy, have not produced results as favorable to the cause of Vindica- 
 tory justice, as all well-wishers to good order have desired. Money has 
 been placed at the discretionary disposal of the officer intrusted with the pro- 
 secutions, and has been liberally expended by him. No item which he has 
 certified to be necessary, has been rejected by the accounting officer, and no 
 justifiable aid, within the constitutional power of the Executive, during my 
 administration, has been withheld. It is but justice to myself to say, that in 
 all cases where the Executive arm was necessary to reach fugitives, who 
 had taken shelter, from the ordinary process of our courts, within the juris- 
 diction of other states, it has been stretched iout for that purpose ; and that 
 where, from accidental causes, courts were Hke to fail, for want of presiding 
 officers, my exertions have always been unremitted, and uniformly success- 
 ful, to sustain them." 
 
 Something in regard to this matter, by way of a vindi- 
 cation of his own conduct, it was necessary that the Gov- 
 ernor should say, after the severity of his arraignment be- 
 fore the public by the late special counsel. Less in his own 
 defence, than what I have just quoted, could not have been 
 expected. More would have betrayed a want of dignity. 
 
 The report of Mr. Birdseye, communicated with the mes- 
 sage of his excellency, comprised a succinct history of his 
 proceedings under the special commission. Much of what 
 he stated, however, has already appeared in the condensed 
 histories of the trials conducted by him, already presented 
 to your consideration. On the trial of Jewctt, Giddings, 
 who had been subpoenaed as a witness, suddenly absconded. 
 His reasons for so doing will appear hereaftej, as stated by 
 himself. It will be recollected (hat this man had been in- 
 troduced as a witness on the trial of Bruce aiid others, in 
 1828, and rejected in consequence of his infidehty. Mr. 
 Birdseye, in the report before me, states one incident in re- 
 gard to this witness, which it is important should be preserv- 
 ed here, because of its bearing upon trials yet to be narra- 
 ted. On the arrival of the special counsel at Lockport, to 
 prosecute the case of Jewett, he says : 
 
I^ETTER XLII. 483 
 
 "'i was addressed by the defendant's counsel, to knowif I should examine 
 Giddings. I took time to ascertain all the facts, so as to answer under- 
 standin^ly, but reciprocating the freedom which had dictated the inquiry, I 
 asked the defendant's counsel to say to me whether, if he were examined, 
 any attack would be niade upon his character for truth and veracity. I re- 
 ceived for answer that his character, in that respect, would not be attacked, for 
 THEY KNEW IT coFLD NOT BE. Haviug made deliberate examination as to 
 the extent of the testimony in the power of the prosecution to produce, to 
 sustain him on the matter of fact ruled against him in Ontario ; and also 
 having formed a most deliberate conviction that that decision was erroneous 
 in point of law, and after the assurance of the defendant's counsel as to his 
 character for truth and veracity, which I found confirmed on inquiry, I felt 
 bound to say that I should examine him if permitted." 
 
 In adverting to the case of the witness at Lockport, who 
 persisted, on the trial of Jewett, in swearing impliedly to 
 the murder of Morgan, in order, to protect himself from an- 
 swering the questions put to him ; swearing, as the reason 
 for such refusal, that he might thereby implicate himself as 
 an accessary before the fact, in the murder, and persisting 
 in the answers, after being cautioned by the Judge that he 
 would perjure himself by such answers, unless Morgan was 
 in fact murdered, and unless he knew of the fact, and that if 
 the laws of man did not punish him, the laws of God would, — 
 the special . counsel suggested whether the constitutional 
 guarantee that no man in a criminal case should be compel- 
 led to be a witness against himself, ought not to be placed by 
 a general statute upon a different footing than that of judi- 
 cial immunity from testifying, on the ground that such testi- 
 mony' may be subsequently used for the conviction of the 
 witness. " Ought not," asks the special counsel, " the wit- 
 « ness to be compelled to testify ; and would not his secu- 
 " rity from any ill effects of such disclosure be sufficient, if 
 "that testimony were inadmissible in any criminal case 
 « against himself?" A general statute, the special counsel 
 thought, would be preferable to any common law practice 
 of favoritism, or the practice of giving rewards to witness- 
 es to testify ; a practice occasionally resorted to by most 
 
484 LETTER XLIir. 
 
 governments, but not congenial to the feelings of our peo- 
 ple. 
 
 In the course of his report, the special counsel mentioned 
 the fact that Judge Gardinei% of the eighth circuit, had re- 
 fused to try any more of these causes ; and he expressed a 
 wish that one of the judges of the Supreme Court might find 
 it convenient to hold the circuit in Niagara, which, in con- 
 sequence of Judge Gardiner's refusal, had been adjourned 
 over to the second Monday in February. 
 
 In concluding his report, this officer passed a high com- 
 pliment upon Mr. Whiting, who had been associated with 
 him by the Governor, after the resignation of Mr. Spencer. 
 His previous acquaintance with the facts and questions 
 arising in these investigations, as well as his local and per- 
 sonal information of the whole subject, added to his talents 
 and experience as a lawyer, rendered his aid most welcome ; 
 and his assistance was found very essential. 
 
 I am, sir, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 New- York, March 26, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The fate of William Morgan, as far, probably, as it will 
 ever be disclosed by human testimony, will now rapidly be 
 developed. Another special circuit was held in the county 
 of Niagara, commencing in February, 1831, and extending 
 considerably into the month of March. His Honor Judgje 
 Nelson, of the Supreme Court, presiding. At this circuit, 
 all the pending indictments in the case of Morgan, which it 
 was believed the public good required to be proceeded with, 
 were disposed of. The two principal trials were, 1st, that 
 of The People vs. Elisha Adams ; and, 2d, the same vs. Park- 
 
LETTER XLIII. 4B5 
 
 hurst Whitney, Timothy Shaw, Noah Beach, WilHam Mil- 
 ler, and Samuel Chubbuck. Both trials were severely con- 
 tested, and of long continuance. But as the alledged par- 
 ticipation of the defendants in the transaction, took place 
 while Morgan was in and about Fort Niagara, and as far 
 the greater part of the testimony was the same on both tri- 
 als, I have thought it best to unite them in a single narra- 
 tive. For all the necessary "purposes of history, this course 
 will answer as well, if not better, than a separate outline of 
 the respective trials ; while time and labor will alike be 
 saved, both to writer and reader. 
 
 The trial of Adams commenced on the 24th of February. 
 That of the other parties above mentioned, who were im- 
 pleaded together, on the 28th. Much difficulty was expe- 
 rienced, on both trials, in obtaining a jury, — the greater 
 number of the panel having been set aside for having form- 
 ed, opinions against the defendants. A man by the name 
 of Raymond, a Freemason, was drawn upon both trials, 
 and excluded in each instance, by the court, for ^n unwil- 
 lingness to disclose the obligations he took as a Mason, un- 
 less the court should require it ; and also for having object- 
 ed to doing so, unless the court should peremptorily require 
 it of him, and for appealing to the court for that purpose. 
 The next juror called in the case of Whitney and others, 
 said he had formed an opinion ; but he had taken three de- 
 grees in Masonry, and had never taken any oath, that, ac- 
 cording to his understanding of it, required him to do any 
 thing contrary to the strict laws of morality, and religion, 
 and the laws of the country. It was enjoined by the rules 
 of Masonry, he said, to be gnod citizens, and obey the laws. 
 He never felt himself under any obligations whatever to 
 show any favor to a brother Mason as a juror or witness. 
 [On the trial of Adams, when .told • by the court he must 
 disclose his obligations, the juror remarked that he thought 
 it was driving a man to a great extremity.] 
 
486 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 Edward Bissell, a very respectable citizen of Lockport, 
 and a Royal Arch Mason, was called, and challenged to the 
 favor, by the special counsel. The obligation of the Royal 
 Arch degree, as disclosed in Barnard's Light on Masonry, 
 having been read, to him, he was asked whether he had tak- 
 en the same in substance, to which question, according to 
 the report from the office of the Lockport Balance, politely 
 furnished me by the Judge, Mr. B. said: — 
 
 " The oaths I took were materially different ; murder and treason were 
 expressly excepted, and there was nothing said in the oaths I have taken 
 about pohtical preferment, nor about voting for a brother Mason in prefer- 
 ence to any other man, as mentioned in the book. That part of the obliga- 
 tion which requires to assist a brother Mason out of trouble, whether nght 
 or wrong, is always explained in the lodges to mean, and I have always un- 
 derstood it to mean, like this : — if I should see a brother Mason in a quar- 
 rel wdth another man, it would be my duty to go to him, and by reminding 
 him of his duty as a Mason, endeavor to get him away without inquiring 
 whether he was on the right or wrong side of the question. It would be my 
 duty to prevent the quarrel if possibjle. I think the oaths morally binding ; 
 and should think it dishonorable to violate them without a cause. I look 
 upon them In the same light that I should a solemn pledge of my honor in 
 any other case. The whole tenor and object of the lectures and other pro- 
 ceedings, is to inculcate a strict obedience to the laws of the country, and a 
 faithful observance of the rules of moraUty and religion. With regard to 
 that part relative to keeping a worthy brother's secrets, if a brother Mason 
 should communicate to me a secret involving the commission or concealment 
 of a legal or moral crime, I should not consider him a icorthy brother, and of 
 course should be under no obligations to keep it. In any legal proceedings, 
 I should feel myself under no obligations, on any account, to favor a brother 
 Mason more than any other man. The juror was admitted and sworn." 
 
 I have quoted this explanation thus at length, because it 
 so closely corresponds with my own vievTS, heretofore giv- 
 en, of the nature of the same Qbligation,~which views, or 
 more properly explanations, were written two months be- 
 fore this report had fallen under my observation. 
 
 The first witness called upon both trials, was Loton Law- 
 son, who gave an account of the taking of Morgan away 
 from the jail in Canandaigua. Before Morgan was put in- 
 
LETTER XLIII. 487 
 
 to the jail, witness had had some conversation with him in 
 regard to his^ proposed book. Morgan said he was in a 
 scrape with Miller, and wished to get out of it. Witness 
 went to Rochester, to communicate to some Masons that 
 Morgan was willing to be privately carried awiay. On 
 his return Morgan was taken out of jail, as heretofore rela- 
 ted. Lawson denied that he gave a signal at the door of 
 the jail, although he heard a whistle, but. did not believe it 
 was connected with that affair. No force was used in tak- 
 ing him from the jail. After he had left it a few rods, an- 
 other man came up, and said, " Morgan, you are my prison- 
 " er," upon which the latter cried murder; but on being 
 assured that he would not be hurt, he was pacified. No 
 force was used in putting him into the carriage, neither was 
 he blindfolded, or bound. He conversed as any body else 
 would, and went willingly ; sometimes the curtains were 
 up, and sometimes down ; — Morgan wished them to be 
 closed, that he might travel privately, and be kept away 
 from Miller, or from his knowledge,— -that he might not be 
 followed by him. On their arrival at Hanford's, Morgan 
 made no objection to the change of carriages ; he was not 
 intoxicated, or drowsy, and nothing was given to make him 
 so. Witness went with the carriage to Gaines, at which 
 place he took another conveyance, and struck off to Lock- 
 port, where he passed the night, and went into Lewiston, to 
 the installation, on the following morning. He did not, 
 while there, hear of Morgan's making any noise at the fort ; 
 he was not himself at the fort, and had never been there 
 He saw Parkhurst Whitney at the installation, — he being 
 one of the officers. He believed Whitney went down to 
 Youngstown, [to the fort,] in the. boat, but was not certain.. 
 When Morgan was asked why he had made the noise after 
 leaving the jail, he said he was sorry he had made such a 
 fuss. Witness saw no restraint used upon Morgan, on any 
 subject, during the day ; it was fine weather, and they had 
 
488 LETTER XLIII/ 
 
 a pleasant ride. He complained much of Miller, who was 
 to have paid him five hundred thousand dollars, but he had 
 not furnished money enough for the expenses of pubUca- 
 tion. He was willing to go any where, to get away from 
 that man. 
 
 John Whitney, (tried formerly, it will be recollected, and 
 acquitted,) was sworn as a witness on the trial of Park- 
 hurst, Whitney and others. . He stated that he rode on the 
 carriage with the driver, Hubbard, from Canandaigua to 
 Victor. He there procured a horse, and proceeded to Ro- 
 chester, on horse-back ; thence to Hanford's Landing; from 
 which place to Wright's, he rode with Morgan in the car- 
 riage. Witness fully corroborated the testimony of Law- 
 son, in regard to the absence of restraint, and of liquor, ex- 
 cept two or three glasses, and also to Morgan's willingness 
 to go. He did not recollect that any one had hold of Mor- 
 gan when they got out of one carriage into another ; they 
 got out and in like the others; there was no scuffle nor was 
 any force used ; he had a talk with Morgan on the road ; 
 he expressed a willingness to go if his situation could be 
 made to suit him, and he was assured it should be so ; the 
 object of keeping him secret, was, that Miller, aiid those 
 with whom he had been engaged in printing the book, should 
 not know where he had gone, so as to follow him ; he said 
 Miller had misused him, and he did not wish him to know 
 where he had gone ; appeared as anxious as any one to 
 keep his journey secret; witness saw no bandage over his 
 eyes ; no threats were used ; Morgan was told he could 
 not fexpect friends unless he used his friends well ;. he said 
 he had done wrong, and was willing to get out of the 
 scrape ; he knew they were going to Lewiston ; it was the 
 understanding that the arrangements to be made for him, 
 were to be as good in a pecuniary point of view, as the 
 speculation with Miller, in publishing the book; nothing 
 definite however, had yet been agreed upon. 
 
LETTER XLIII, 489 
 
 • 
 
 Isaac Farwell was. examined on both trials. He lived 
 near Wright's tavern, and was there when the carriage 
 drove to the shed, towards evening, on the 13th of Sep- 
 tember, 1826. He was requested by Wright to go into 
 the barn, where the carriage was driven. He there got 
 into the carriage, to sit with the man whom he had been 
 told was Morgan, while the person whom he found in 
 the carriage with him, went in to supper. He, (witness,) 
 was a Mason ; and on inquiring what the disturbance was 
 about, and who Morgan was, they told him that he had 
 been publishing the secrets of masonry, and gave him an 
 account of the manner in which they had taken him away, 
 first from Batavia, for stealing a shirt, and then from Can- 
 andaigua. He inquired what they were going to do with 
 him, and was told that they intended to take him to Cana- 
 da, where they would procure him to be sent on board of a 
 British ship of war. Witness held no conversation with 
 him, either by signs or words. The person in the carriage 
 had a handkerchief drawn entirely and closely over his 
 f^ce. When witness entered the carriage, and the other 
 
 person left it to get his supper, he said : — " You d ^d old 
 
 " hag, if you open your head while I am gone, I will smash 
 " you on my return." Morgan was helped out of the car- 
 riage, while in the barn, and soon taken in again. Witness 
 was told that the fact of his being th^re was to be kept a 
 secret.' He had talked with Wright about it before the car- 
 riage came up. Wright said he did not know what the 
 matter was, but a man came along in a sulkey, and inquir- 
 ed if he had seen the Rev. Mr. Cumings, to which he repli- 
 ed that he had not. He was then directed by the man in 
 the sulkey, that if a carriage should come along, he must 
 drive it into the barn^ and say nothing about it. Wright 
 added that he knew not what it meant. 
 
 Eli Bruce was examined on both trials, testifying much 
 as on his former examination, with the addition of a few 
 
 62 
 
490 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 • 
 
 particulars. Morgan's face, he said, was covered that he 
 should not see who were with him. He talked freely, and 
 was not bound. When asked if he knew where he was, 
 he replied that he was passing from Rochester to Lewis- 
 ton. On getting into the boat, he inquired what it was. 
 He was told, and then asked if all was safe, with which 
 assurance he was content. He was not landed on the Can- 
 ada shore. Witness supposed that Morgan was to be pro- 
 vided for — that he was to be placed on a farm, somewhere 
 back in the country, away from the knowledge or influence 
 of Miller. When the Canada people refused, to receive 
 him, witness thought it was because their arrangements 
 were not completed. When on coming back, Morgan was 
 put into the Magazine, he, (witness,) supposed he was only 
 to be kept there until those arrangements had been settled. 
 There was no restraint upon Morgan's limbs, — he was not 
 bound, even in the boat. A man was left with him, to keep 
 him company at the magazine, but witness did not go into 
 it himself. He did not previously know Morgan ; but was 
 informed that it was a voluntary proceeding on his part, 
 or he> (witness) would have had nothing to do with the af- 
 fair. When he heard, on the following day, at Lewiston, 
 that Morgan was uneasy, he had some misgivings ; but sup- ' 
 posed from the character of the men, who were with him, " 
 that nothing dishonorable would be done, or any thing that 
 would affect his own character and standing. The last 
 that he had ever hoard upon the subject, except by rumor, 
 was, that he was quieted and contented. He had himself^ 
 hoped for the best, and said nothing — being a public officer. 
 He heard no expression from any one, that Morgan had 
 forfeited his life. He remembered of their fastening the 
 magazine, but had not inquired into the particulars of the 
 case. 
 
 John Jackson, the person who accompanied Giddings to 
 the magazine, on the morning of the 14th of September, 
 
LETTER XLIII. 491 
 
 1826, and who was despatched to Lewiston, to inform Col. 
 King that " the man in the magazine was making a good 
 " deal of noise,'* was again called upon the stand. His tes- 
 timony on the present occasion, did not vary materially 
 from his former statements, especially that made on the 
 trial of Brown and Wright. In addition to his former re- 
 lations, however, he now testified that he was at Batavia 
 when Miller was arrested, on the 12th of September ; and 
 when he was first told that " there was a man in the maga- 
 zine," he thought it must be Miller. He denied, however, 
 that his business at Batavia had any connexion with the 
 proceedings against Miller. He knew not for what that 
 individual was arrested. 
 
 There were two witnesses sworn upon the trials of 
 Adams, and Parkhurst Whitney, and those impleaded with 
 him, whose testimony was of a pecuUarly important and 
 decisive character. The first of these was James A. Shed, 
 now a practising lawyer in Ohio, whose name has not be- 
 fore appeared on any of the trials. He testified that he 
 happened to be at Fort Niagara, on the afternoon of 12th 
 of September, 1826, when he was inquired of by Col. Jew- 
 ett whom he previously knew, whether he was a Mason. 
 On replying in the affirmative, he was informed that a very 
 high-handed measure was about to be entered into by the 
 Masons, a parallel of which could not probably be found 
 in the history of the world, unless in the case of King 
 Stanislaus, who was seized and carried off" by the Poles ; — 
 that it was their intention to carry off Morgan for pubhsh- 
 ing the secrets of Masonry — take him to Montreal or Que- 
 bec, and there put him on board a British vessel, if one 
 could be found whose commander was a Mason. In the 
 evening of that day, witness, on request, assisted to row a 
 boat over the river, in which were two other persons be- 
 sides himself, one of whom was Jewett. On reaching the 
 shore, witness and Jewett went up to the village of Niaga- 
 
492 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 .^. ra, attended a meeting of eight or ten Masons at a lodge 
 *^ room, where the subject of Morgan's disposal was discuss- 
 ed; one proposed harsh measures, and even death. Anoth- 
 er repelled the proposal with indignation. The meeting 
 was broken up, nothing done, and the party returned in the 
 boat to Fort Niagara. On Wednesday, witness assisted to 
 remove powder out of the magazine, which was said to be 
 spoiling on account of dampness. On Thursday, he was 
 informed that Morgan had been brought to that place the 
 night previously — went that day to Lewiston and attended 
 the installation. Returned the same evening. On tl]c 
 Monday or Tuesday morning following, witness and 
 another person met Adams coming from the magazine, 
 who seemed to be agitated, and said he believed they had 
 taken Morgan away. Went to the magazine — Adams call- 
 ed Morgan thrice, but received no answer — unlocked the 
 door — entered — discovered a quantity of straw which had 
 the appearance of having been lain Upon by a man — an 
 ammunition box, flag silk handkerchief, pitcher, decanter, 
 and a plank that was broken, on the floor. The straw was 
 removed, the boxes taken out, the plank refitted to its pro- 
 per place, the handkerchief destroyed, and the pitcher and 
 decanter carried down to Giddings's house. Witness heard 
 no explanation whether Morgan had been removed by the 
 Canada Masons or not. He was intimately acquainted 
 with the person who first spoke to him, and they had the 
 sign and grip between them. Witness made no inquiries 
 of him as to the effect of this transaction ; but did make en- 
 quiries of him as to the propriety of the measure ; he said 
 it was with extreme reluctance that he had had any thing to 
 do with it, but felt himself bound as a Mason. Witness re- 
 mained at Youngstown about six months afterwards, teach- 
 ing school— conversed with Mr. Shaw, one of defendants, 
 at Lewiston, in the following January, who stated that he 
 knew Morgan was there, and felt very bad about it. Heard 
 
LETTER XLTIl. 493 
 
 Shaw endeavor to dissuade Giddings from disclosing the 
 affair. 
 
 On his cross-examination, witness stated that no one was 
 present at the time of Shaw's admissions — never heard either 
 of defendants acknowledge that they had had any part in the 
 transaction — never saw any of the persons who were pre- 
 sent at the meeting in Canada afterwards, except Garside, 
 — who wished witness to introduce him to some Mason of 
 high standing, that he might get his permission to put Mor- 
 gan to death. Witness refused. 
 
 Orsamus Turner, whose name has become quite familiar 
 in connexion with these transactions, testified, in substance, 
 that he was at Batavia some time before the abduction of 
 Morgan, and heard a good many hard things said. He had 
 learned from sheriff Thompson and others, that Morgan 
 was dissatisfied with Miller, and wished to get away, if the 
 Masons would give him an equivalent for the book he was 
 writing. With this view, he, (witness,) crossed over into 
 Canada, to * complete the arrangements for taking Morgan 
 thence, and settling him upon a farm. This farm, it was 
 understood, was to be paid for by the Masons in Canada. 
 It was situated near the Short Hills, and was to be given to 
 Morgan, on condition that he should take back the manu- 
 scripts already in Miller's possession, and suppress the book. 
 Witness supposed the bargain with Morgan had been made, 
 and that it was well understood on both sides. Four men 
 were to be responsible ; and indeed they had offered to pay 
 Morgan an equivalent in money, should he prefer it. On 
 his return from Canada, witness stopped at Youngstown to 
 take tea. While tea was preparing, witness and his com- 
 panion, Darrow, walked to the house of Mr. Giddings, who 
 kept a tavern, where the subject of the removal of Morgan 
 into Canada, was talked over. It was " ..ggested that it 
 might be necessary for Morgan to stop there over night ; 
 and the question arose where he should be kept. Giddings 
 
494 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 proposed the magazine of the fort, and introduced witness 
 to a person, who, he said, would make the necessary ar- 
 rangements. From the rash expressions which witness 
 had heard at Batavia,. which he now mentioned to Gid- 
 dings, it was feared that some violence might be offered 
 to Morgan, and this, they thought, would have a bad effect. 
 The arrangement for taking him into Canada, was made for 
 the double purpose of preventing violence, and suppressing 
 the book. Witness expressly told Giddings, that the ar- 
 rangement had been made with a full understanding that not 
 a hair of his head should be hurt. Giddings, who felt as 
 he did upon the subject, was charged to see that no violence 
 should be offered to Morgan. The information had been 
 communicated to witness by men of honor, in whom he 
 thought he could confide — men of character and standing. 
 After this interview with Giddings, and the other man, on 
 the night of the 10th of September, witness had never 
 had any thing to do with the matter, du'ectly or indi- 
 rectly. He attended the installation of the chapter, at Lew- 
 iston, but knew nothing in any wise inculpating either of. the 
 parties on trial. 
 
 The next witness called, and far the most important of 
 any examined, on either of the long chain of trials, was 
 Edward Giddings, who had been rejected, in consequence 
 of his alledged infidelity, on the trial of Bruce, in 1828. He 
 was again objected to, by the counsel for the defence both on 
 the trial of Adams, and on thatofParkhurst Whitney and oth- 
 ers, on the same ground as before, viz : his disbelief in a Su- 
 preme Being who will punish perjury. A long trial ensued upon 
 this point, and the testimony taken in respect to his religious 
 belief, was, if possible, still more contradictory than before. 
 
 It was most clearly testified by several witnesses, that 
 Giddings, on various occasions, had used expressions show- 
 ing that he doubted, if he did not disbelieve in, the immor- 
 tality of the soul, and the future accountability of man. He 
 
LETTER XLIII. 495 
 
 seemed to have read bad books, in an unenlightened man- 
 ner'; — books especially calculated to mislead the vulgar and 
 ignorant portion of the community, as they profess to com- 
 municate a v^orld of (to them) new information. I shall 
 not incumber these pages, already too much protracted, 
 with specimens of the evidence given on this trial, as to his 
 infidelity. He quoted much from Volney's Ruins ; than 
 which I do not know any book better calculated to promote 
 the cause of the Arch Fiend, among the illiterate. Accord- 
 ing to this part of the testimony, Giddings did not profess 
 to know what he believed in, beyond the consciousness of 
 his own existence ; and a little more loose reading might 
 have taught him to doubt the evidence of that. He had a 
 vague idea 
 
 " Of the Great Whole, 
 " Who hath produced and will receive the soul," 
 
 but it was little tinctured with either poetry or philosophy* 
 It was proved, on the other hand, that he had spoken at 
 times of temporal punishment as being the retributive jus- 
 tice of heaven for sins done upon earth. A wide range of 
 testimony was allowed to be gone into ; in which it was 
 sworn that he was in the habit of alluding to a God, — as an 
 overruling Providence, in his letters to his children, and the 
 relations with whom he corresponded. But taken altogeth- 
 er, as I have already stated, this testimony proved that his 
 ideas as to the sanction of morals, and his obligations to- 
 wards his Creator and his fellow men, were crude and fan- 
 tastic. Had he been well educated, he would probably 
 have been either an enlightened christian, or a dangerous 
 skeptic. « 
 
 It was w^ell known, by the repeated publications of 
 Giddings, and by his evidence given before grand ju- 
 rors, that his testimony was of the highest consequence, 
 
496 LETTER XLIII. 
 
 in these trials ; and corresponding efforts , were made on 
 both sides ; by the prosecution, to have him sworn as a 
 witness, and by the defence, to exclude him. A formida- 
 ble array of witnesses had consequently been brought 
 forward, both to impeach, and to sustain him, on other 
 grounds than his religious belief There was one cir- 
 cumstance disclosed in the course of this collateral inves- 
 tigation, which it would be unfair not to mention. By the 
 former law of this state, as settled by the Supreme Conrt, 
 on the opinion of the late Chief Justice Spencer, a belief, not 
 only in a God, but in a state of future rewards and punish- 
 ments, was required to make a competent witness. But in 
 the late revision of our laws, the common law has been al- 
 tered ; and it appeared in evidence on this occasion, that in 
 the course of a conversation between Giddings and the late 
 special counsel, Mr. Spencer, the former having complain- 
 ed of the law by which his testimony had been excluded 
 at Canandaigua, the latter had told him that the law would 
 probably-be altered in this respect. Mr. Spencer was one 
 of the revisers of the laws and a member of the legislature. 
 The law was altered, and the two provisions upon this sub- 
 ject are now incorporated in the statute book, in the follow- 
 ing words : — 
 
 " § 87. Every person believing in the existence of a Supreme Being who 
 will punish false-swearing, shall be admitted to be sworn, if otherwise com- 
 petent." 
 
 " § 88. No person shall be required to declare his belief or disbelief in the 
 existence of a Supreme Being, or that He will punish false-swearing, or his 
 belief or disbelief of any other matter, as a requisite to his admission to be 
 sworn or to testify in any case. But the belief or unbelief of every person 
 offered ag a witness, may be proved by other and competent testimony." 
 
 I do not intend any impeachment of the hiotives of Mr. 
 Spencer, by adverting thus to the above mentioned cir- 
 cumstance. I have no evidence that the proposed change 
 was made at his instance ; nor do I believe that, were such 
 
LETTER XLIII. 497 
 
 the fact, however anxious he might have been to convict 
 the Morgan conspirators, he w^ouldhave aided in changing 
 the settled principles of the law of evidence for that pur- 
 pose. If the law had been erroneously expounded, and laid 
 down incorrectly in the books, it was proper that it should 
 be corrected ; but the conversation with Giddings, as given 
 in the testimony, required explanation, and that explanation, 
 1 conceive, has not been here improperly introduced. 
 
 The testimony having been closed in support of the com- 
 petency of Giddings, his Honor Judge Nelson said, that the 
 more he reflected upon it, the more he was convinced, that 
 he ought not, upon this preliminary inquiry, to stop to weigh 
 and canvass the facts, and see on which side the balance 
 of proof lay. The witness was presumed in the first in- 
 stance, to be competent, and the defendants held the affirma- 
 tive, and were bound to sustain it, and as at present advis- 
 ed, he should always hold the party objecting, to make out 
 a clear and undoubted case of disqualification, before he 
 would exclude. Doubt ought to admit. He would there- 
 fore admit the witness, allowing the counsel to urge the 
 facts to the jury upon the question of credibility. 
 
 Giddings was thereupon sworn. He testified, that in 
 September, 1826, he lived at Fort Niagara, and kept the 
 ferry. About midnight of the 12th he was called up by Col. 
 King, who said he had got the d- — d perjilred scoundrel 
 who had been revealing the secrets of Masonry ; that he was 
 bound, hood-winked, and under guard ; wanted witness to 
 take them over the river, and dehver him up to the Masons 
 in Canada, for them to do with as they thought proper ; 
 went over the river with them ; Morgan was sitting on a 
 piece of timber when witness went out of the house ; he had 
 a handkerchief oTer his eyes ; he was then led to the boat 
 ^y two men ; one had hold of each arm ; was not intoxica- 
 ted ; appeared to be very weak ; his legs were not bound ; 
 nothing was said to him before they got to the boat ; on« 
 
 63 
 
498 LETTER XLIII. r 
 
 of the men, (Eli Bruce,) called for some water, and said the 
 wretch is almost famished ; there were four of us with him ; 
 five, in all, including Morgan, went into the boat, viz : Col. 
 King, Hague, Bruce, Morgan, and witness ; two of the 
 men, when we got over, went up to the town, (Niagara:) 
 While they were waiting in the boat, Morgan said, " the 
 " handkerchief pains me most intolerably ;" the man who 
 sat in front of him felt under the handkerchief, and said, 
 " it is not tight, keep silent ;" he then said, " gentlemen, I 
 " am your prisoner, use me with magnanimity ;" the man who 
 sat before him pressed a pistol against his breast, and toLd 
 him if he said any thing more he would shoot him. Mor- 
 gan tried to put his hands into his vest pocket, and could 
 not ; witness then saw that his hands were tied behind him. 
 In about two hours they returned with intelligence that the 
 Canadians were not prepared to receive Morgan, where- 
 upon he was brought back and put into the magazine. 
 Witness had the key; went up the next morning to give 
 him food and refreshments. They went into the porch 
 door, and were about opening the door leading to the ma- 
 gazine, when Morgan said, you had better not come in ; for 
 as there are but two of you, I can defend myself against you, 
 as I am situated ; I am determined not to be bled to death. 
 John Jackson then said, where is that pistol, is it loaded, is 
 
 the flint in good order ? for I will shoot the d d rascal ; 
 
 this was said in a loud voice to intimidate him. Morgan 
 then cried murder and made much noise. Witness request- 
 ed a man, (John Jackson,) who was going to Lewiston, to 
 send somebody to still Morgan. A person, (Hague,) came, 
 and in going up to the magazine, he said, " I know Morgan, 
 " and he fears me as he does the devil : he will make no more 
 ** noise after I see him." Afterwards thirty more came, of 
 whom all returned except the six defendants. The collo- 
 quies that attended the interviews between them and their 
 prisoner, do not s^ecm to be> material to the issue, until tlie 
 
LETTER XLIir. 499 
 
 evening of the 15th, when his further disposal became a 
 matter of dehberation, — and it was at first determined to 
 put him to death. While they were proceeding to the ma- 
 gazine for that purpose, under the direction of Col. King, 
 one of them made an objection. He said he felt bound to 
 assist, but could not approve of the deed. They concluded 
 thereupon to defer the execution until they could send to 
 " the Grand Lodge now sitting at Jerusalem^^ for instruc- 
 tions. They apprised Morgan that they had determined to 
 send to the east for instructions what to do with him. At 
 this interview he said he thought that by climbing up on a 
 frame, he could see to read, and he asked for a Bible. He 
 also requested permission to. see his wife and children ; and 
 these indulgencies were promised to him, — but not granted. 
 After leaving the magazine, they were joined by Adams, 
 and the manner of disposing of Morgan was again discus- 
 sed. One man said by putting a rope round his body, arms 
 and legs, and sinking him in the river, no trace of him could 
 ever be discovered. Miller said he could prove from scrip- 
 ture that it was right to take his life ; quoted a passage, but wit- 
 ness don't recollect what it was ; some high words passed be- 
 tween King and witness, who told King he would go and 
 release Morgan ; King was in a great passion, and told 
 witness to do it at his peril ; witness then gave him up the 
 key and told King he would have no more to do with it ; he 
 (King,) took the key and gave it to another person. On the 
 17th, witness went to York, (U. C.) and returned on the 
 21st, when he was told by Col. Jewett, that "they had 
 " murdered that man." The witness also testified to murder- 
 ous designs expressed by Garside, (the same person named 
 by Shed,) but they do not seem to have pertained to the 
 issue. 
 
 A cross-examination followed of considerable length, one 
 of the prominent points of which was the disclosure of terms 
 of pecuniary advantage, upon the performance of which the 
 
500 LETTER XLTII. 
 
 witness had agreed to leave that part of the country, and 
 not appear as a witness* The Masons were very anxious 
 to have him go off, and made him hberal offers, and he at 
 one time agreed to go. The fact was admitted by Giddings, 
 but as that was a matter touching his credibihty only, it 
 does not seem to be necessary to my purpose to enter into 
 the detail. The examination and cross-examination were 
 very long, and at times full of fearful and tragic interest. 
 
 Kneeland Townsend was next called. His testimony 
 related principally to the proposition that had been made 
 to silence Giddings, by money. The witness (then a Ma- 
 son) approved of the plan ; but it was so evident, from his 
 own confession, that the witness was so intemperate and for- 
 getful, that very little reliance, it is presumed, could have 
 been placed upon his testimony, even if it had been impor- 
 tant in its character. 
 
 Four witnesses, viz : Oliver Grace, Gustavus W. Pope, 
 Loton Lawson, and Alexander Stewart, were then called 
 to invaHdate the testimony of Giddings. They swore to 
 facts at vq.riance with what he had asserted under oath, and 
 also to his different versions of the trans actions — but these 
 w^ere points for the consideration of the jury, as questions 
 of fact, rather than as involving any important principle. 
 
 The two next witnesses called by the defendants, were 
 for the purpose of impeaching the testimony of Kneeland 
 Townsend, but their evidence was of little importance to 
 either party. The next and last witness, however, was 
 called by the prosecution, and his testimony was so impor- 
 tant that (especially as it is brief,) I give it entire as report- 
 ed:— 
 
 " Amos Bronson. — I had .a conversation with Chubbuck (one of the de- 
 fendants,) day before yesterday : (this is Saturday, 5th,) we were talking 
 about Giddings's testimony ; he said, as far as he has gone he has told the 
 truth ; this is a misfortune that has come upon us like the crash of an earth- 
 quake ; we could not avoid doing as wc did, and the first we knew it was 
 
LETTER XLIIT. 501 
 
 upon our shouldoig ; at this time Giddings had got to where he told that 
 quite a number had come down from Lewiston, and six staid till after sup- 
 per, and' had given the names of Beach, Chubbuck, and Shaw: I think 
 Mr. Birdseye was examining Giddings at this time. 
 
 " Cross-examined. — Was here day before yesterday as a spectator ; am 
 here to-day as a witness ; I told this conversation to several before I went 
 home ; Chubbuck said that what Giddings had sworn to was as true as 
 what he had sworn to himself." 
 
 The cause of Elisha* Adams was ably defended by W. 
 H. Adams, Esq., and that of the people by the special coun- 
 sel, after which an elaborate charge was made to the jury 
 by judge Nelson. 
 
 The cause was committed to the jury at about 7 o'clock, 
 on Saturday evening. On Monday morning the jury came 
 into court, and declared that they had not agreed upon a 
 verdict, and could not agree. Eleven of them were ready 
 to render a verdict of guilty ; but there was one who would 
 never agree. Such being the state of the case, the court 
 directed the dissenting juror to stand up in the jury 'box. 
 He did so, and proved to be the only Mason on the panel. 
 The jury was then discharged. 
 
 The case of P. Whitney, Shaw, Beach, Miller, and Chub- 
 buck, was also very ably and eloquently summed up by 
 Messrs. Griffin and Adams, for the defence, and by the 
 special counsel for the prosecution. 
 
 The Judge occupied an hour and a half in committing 
 this cause to the jury, as there was a great accumulation of 
 testimony to be analyzed, and spread before them in an in- 
 telligible form. The proof of the existence of the conspira- 
 cy was established, the judge said, as had been conceded in 
 the course of the argument, on both sides. The jury there- 
 fore, would not be under the necessity of examining that 
 point. It was not contended, on the part of the people, that 
 the defendants were otherwise guilty, than as parties to the 
 conspiracy, and this fact was the leading and important in- 
 quiry submitted to them. The question then arose, were 
 
502 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 the defendants, or either of them — for all or any of them 
 might be convicted — parties to the conspiracy, or to the 
 imprisonment of Morgan ? That they were, was positively 
 asserted by Giddings, under oath ; and the Judge proceed- 
 ed to examine the character and weight of that testimony, 
 to enable the jury to give it its just value, retaining the 
 ground that he was an admissible witness, and leaving it to 
 them to judge of its credibility. The court also adverted 
 to the testimony of Shed, which only went to implicate Shaw, 
 and would not ofjtself, conceding the truth of it, be suffi- 
 cient for that. He deemed the question to rely mainly upon 
 the credit attached to the testimony, of Giddings. It was a 
 question for the jury to decide. It was their province to 
 pass upon the whole. If their minds were at rest on the 
 question of guilt, they should convict, regardless of conse- 
 quences ; but if not, if they had any rational and conscien- 
 tiQUS doubts, their duty was to acquit. 
 
 On the morning of March 8th, the jury, having been out 
 all night, came info court with a verdict of " Not Guilty," 
 in regard to Timothy Shaw and William Miller. Not be- 
 able to agree respecting the guilt or innocence of the other 
 defendants, the jury were discharged, and the court imme- 
 diately proceeded with another of these extraordinary 
 .cases. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 New- York, March 26, 1832. 
 
 Silly 
 
 The next and last of the conspiracy cases which came 
 to trial, was that of the People vs. Norman Shephard, and Dr. 
 
LETTER XLIV. 60A 
 
 Timothy Maxwell. The first witness called, was General 
 Jonathan K. Barlow, who resided in Genesee county in the 
 summer and autumn of 1826. The last time that he had 
 attended a lodge or chapter of Masons, was on the week 
 immediately preceding the 15th of August of that year. 
 The Mark-masters Lodge was first opened, and a conver- 
 sation ensued respecting the book which it was said Morgan 
 was now publishing. The Rev. Lucius Smith, master of 
 the lodge, and High Priest of the Chapter, was in the chair. 
 It was in part upon the business of Morgan's book, that 
 the meeting was summoned. There had been several pre- 
 vious meetings upon this subject, and a committee had been 
 appointed to concert measures for the suppression of the 
 book, although of this committee the witness first heard at 
 the present meeting. A report from that committee was 
 announced, and one of its members rose and addressed the 
 chair, wishing to know where they should present their ac- 
 counts to be audited. He stated that the committee had 
 been to Rochester and Buffalo, — and the witness believed 
 he added, " and Canandaigua :" but of this he was not quite 
 certain. The answer in regard to the account, was — " You 
 " must present it to the auditing committee." It was here 
 intimated that perhaps they had better hear the report be- 
 fore they acted upon it. The master then interrupted the 
 discussion,, by saying " it was not a proper place to receive 
 « the report. The lodge should be first closed, and the 
 " chapter opened." The necessary direction for that pur- 
 pose was thereupon given : all the brethren who had re- 
 ceived no higher degrees than the Mark, retired ; and the 
 chapter was opened in due form. The committee was 
 then called upon for the report, and one of its members — 
 but not the one who had spoken upon the subject in the de- 
 gree below — rose and made a report. He said : — 
 
 " W€ went to Rochester, and assembled the companions of the chapter, 
 and toUl them that one William Morgan was about to print the secrets of 
 
504 LETTER xur. 
 
 Masonry ; that the companions, or a number of them, on bemg informed 
 who h« was, knew Morgan — and after having heard a relation of all the evi- 
 dences they had concerning the book, the High Priest of the chapter at 
 Rochester got up, pulled off liis coat, stripped up his sleeves, and said, 
 
 * Bring me the man that dare do that thing, and I will show you what to do 
 
 * with him.' The member of the committee who was making the report, 
 was interrupted immediately upon saying this, and told (by the High Priest) 
 it was unnecessary to report any further — that enough had been reported. 
 He said it was improper that the report should come before the chapter, be- 
 cause, he said, ' we may have spies upon us —and what is done here to-day, 
 
 * may be revealed on the house-tops to-morrow.' The Rev. High Priest went 
 on further to state, that it was not proper for the committee to report it in 
 common, but that they should keep it themselves, and do their own busi- 
 ness. Direction was then given to the chapter, to be cautious what was 
 said — to be discreet and careful. On the same evening, out of the chapter, 
 witness heard an inquiry made of the High Priest, by one who was in the 
 Mark Lodge, (but had been exalted that night,) ' what the report of .the 
 
 * committee was ?' He (the High Priest) 'said — 'Our committee know their 
 
 * own business, and can keep their own counsels, and transact their own bu- 
 
 * siness — and it is not fitting for you or me to know about it.'" 
 
 The person here referred to as having that night been ex- 
 alted to the degree of Royal Arch, was Judge William 
 Mitchell. The committee consisted of William Seaver, 
 Blanchard Powers, and Nathan Follett. It was Seaver 
 who first spoke of having the accounts for the expenses ol' 
 the committee audited. There was a pretty full chapter 
 assembled on that evening. On the day following, the wit- 
 ness, (General Barlow,) started on a journey, and did not 
 return until the middle of October. His testimony was 
 fully confirmed by the examination of Judge Mitchell, who 
 was the next witness called. During a part of the evening, 
 the Rev. High Priest was clad in his clerical instead of his 
 masonic robes. 
 
 Benjamin Porter, Jr., called as a witness, resided in Ba- 
 tavia in 1826, and was sent, some time in July, with a mes- 
 sage from William Seaver, to the High Priest of the Chap- 
 ter at Lockport. The- message was delivered : it related 
 
'V* -PS^^ 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 505 
 
 to Morgan's book, and a chapter was called that evening, 
 which witness attended. 
 
 Gustavus W. Pope, lived in Lewiston, and was acquaint- 
 ed with Dr. Maxwell. In the spring of 1827, witness had 
 a conversation with Maxwell, touching his having been at .'.: v 
 Batavia, at the time of Morgan's arrest : — " *' 
 
 " Witness asked him, familiarly, a question — said to liim, 'Mac, it issai4 
 you were at Batavia when Morgan was carried off.* He said he was there, 
 he supposed, at the time he was carried off His words were, * I was there 
 at the time three days and three nights.' He said he never saw Morgan, 
 or knew any thing about him — that he was there on his own business — but 
 if he could have got the old devil, he would have crammed him into his wag- 
 gon, and carried him off. Witness then said to him, ' you haye a good deal 
 to do with his Satanic majesty.' He replied that he had. This was the 
 sum of the conversation. Defendant said there was quite an assemblage 
 of people there, a good many, at that time — that he did not know what their 
 business was. Witness did not understand who went with him, (Maxwell) 
 — thinks he said he went alone, in a one horse waggon ; had a patient 
 about ten miles from here, and having business at Batavia, he went through. 
 Witness now thinks he said somebody was with him, but can't be certaiii. 
 To a question as to his testimony before the grand jury, witness answered, 
 that he did not remember what he then testified — but that what he now re- 
 lated was the truth, whatever he might have sworn to before the grand jury ! 
 
 On his cross-examination, witness stated that the forego- 
 ing conversation with the defendant was jocose — more in 
 sport than earnest. Witness commenced the conversation 
 by way of a joke, and both laughed heartily. And yet it 
 was on the testimony of this very witness, that the bill of 
 indictment against defendant had been found ! 
 
 For the fifth time, John Jackson was called — one of the 
 most unyielding non-mi-recordo witnesses ever brought up- 
 on the stand. He was at Batavia when Morgan was ar- 
 rested. Formerly he swore that he went thither on his 
 own business — knowing nothing of the Morgan affair. He 
 now said . he went partly on his own business, and to ac- 
 company David Hague. But his testimony was so full of 
 
 64 
 
506 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 contradictions, and so peculiar, that I depair of conveying 
 an adequate idea of its manner by analysis, and I must 
 therefore quote it without much abridgement : — 
 
 " John Jackson. — Was at Batavia after Morgan was taken away ; went 
 from here to Batavia ; went alone ; overtook some folks that were going 
 that way ; overtook Hague from ten to twelve miles east of Lockport. 
 Witness can't say whether he started in the morning or in the evening j 
 can't be positive whether he had company all the way or not ; went on 
 horseback. Thinks he did not go into the village of Batavia with Hague j 
 separated about one mile this side of the arsenal. Hague rode on and left 
 witness. Witness had conversation with Hague about suppressing Mor- 
 gan's book, on the way. Hague was telling witness that a certain man had 
 obtained a copy that Miller had. That was about all was said ! Hague 
 said he was going, and invited him to go. Does not recollect that Hague 
 hired a horse for witness to go ; don't think Hague said he wanted him to 
 assist in suppressing the book. Arrived at Batavia same day, a little before 
 night ; staid there one night. Witness was around the streets till after he 
 saw the bustle in arresting Miller, and thinks he left there soon after. Was 
 informed by a merchant there, that Morgan had been taken away by the 
 Masons, and that he supposed they were going to carry off Miller. Did 
 not see Doctor Maxwell at Batavia ; saw him three or four miles east of 
 there towards Le Roy, on the Canandaigua road. Witness saw a bustle, 
 and asked Maxwell, ' What's the matter now?' * God !' said he, * they 
 have got Miller ; they have taken Morgan, and Miller was to go.' Wit- 
 ness went to the tavern where they took Miller in Batavia ; did not get any .. 
 breakfast that day ; don't know the name of the place or tavern. Other 
 persons were passing about there, but don't know who they were. Witness 
 supposed he went alone ; there were people on the road, but did not know 
 them ; thinks that he asked Mac if he knew Morgan, and that he was ta* 
 ken off; Mac said he heard he was taken off by some men from Canandai- 
 gua, but that he did not know the men. Witness left Batavia the same 
 day he saw Mac at the tavern, and staid at Carrington's (eight miles east 
 of Lockport) that night, or a few hours, till day-light ; no one was with wit- 
 ness. Can't say how long it was before he went down to the fort. Witness 
 went to Batavia partly on his own business, and to accompany Hague ; that 
 was about all I He understood Hague meant to get the other copies of 
 Morgan's books or disclosures. Saw no others besides Hague that heknew 
 went on that business. Did not see Shephard, and does not know he went 
 out. Ha^ue had before told witness what was going on ; thinks it was the 
 night before he, (witness,) started from home. 
 
 By the Court. — Witness supposed these copies were to be got by intrigue, 
 the same as the others were ; swpposecl they could get some stranger to 
 
LETTER XLIV. 507 
 
 make friends with Miller, and get liberty to read it, and then clear out with 
 it. Don't recollect as any other way was suggested. Thinks nothing was 
 said about taking Morgan ; don't recollect as any thing was said about Mor- 
 gan, only that he was the one who wrote it." 
 
 Jehiel C. S. Ransom, attended a meeting of the lodge at 
 Lockport, the first week in September, 1826. Measures 
 were proposed to suppress the publication of the book pre- 
 paring by Morgan. He understood that the meeting was 
 called for that purpose. He did not remember seeing 
 Maxwell there, nor did he know that Shepherd was pre- 
 sent. Eli Bruce, called again upon this trial : attended the 
 meeting of the lodge mentioned by Ransom, but had no re- 
 collection whether either of the defendants, or even Ransom 
 himself, was present. Orsamus Turner was sworn likewise 
 upon this trial. He was present at the meeting of the lodge 
 referred to ; but did not recollect whether Shepherd was 
 there. Maxwell, he was quite sure, was present. They 
 were at first, ten or twelve of them, talking over the sub- 
 ject of Morgan's book, in the street, and finally concluded 
 to go into the lodge-room, as being more retired. " He 
 " had heard Maxwell was at Batavia at the time Morgan 
 " was carried offj and witness went and asked him about it. 
 " He admitted that he was there, and told some of the cir- 
 « cumstances — stating that Morgan had been put in the car- 
 " riage at Batavia, and had gone to Canandaigua. He relat- 
 " ed the circumstances pretty much as witness had since 
 " heard them ; it could not have been long after news came 
 " that Morgan had been carried off^ — thinks it was before 
 " the installation, but after he (witness) had been to Fort 
 " Niagara on the business. Defendant did not say how long 
 " he had been at Batavia, or that he went with Hague." 
 
 At this stage of the proceedings, the special counsel, 
 finding, as the reporter in substance remarks, that the 
 witnesses remembered nothing to the purpose, abandoned 
 the prosecutions, and the jury of course rendered a verdict 
 
508 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 of "NOT GUILTY." The court was thereupon adjourned 
 without day. 
 
 On the 22d of April following these trials, the Governor 
 transmitted to the legislature the final report of the special 
 counsel upon the whole transactions arising from the con- 
 spiracy and the abduction of Morgan, In this report, Mr. 
 Birdseye stated very briefly the results of the three trials 
 at the late Special Circuit Court, developing far more than 
 had been previously known of the true character, and the 
 closing scene, of that dark conspiracy, although there had 
 been no convictions in either case. The special counsel 
 considered that the disclosures warranted the opinion that 
 Morgan's life had been taken; but there was no testimony 
 inducing the belief that either of the persons yet under in- 
 dictment, with the exception of Elisha Adams, was present 
 at the perpetration of the crime. And as to him, the belief 
 was rather a matter of inference, than of positive proof. 
 Nor did the counsel suppose, that, with the exception of 
 Adams, there was any person yet living, and wilhin the 
 jurisdiction of the United States, who was present when 
 the victim was put to death. 
 
 The testimony on the last mentioned trials, had left no 
 doubt of the forcible abduction of Morgan, although by 
 threats and delusive promises, he had been induced to re- 
 main passive during his journey from Canandaigua to Nia- 
 gara. In regard to P. Whitney, Beach, Chubbuck, and 
 Adams, the indictments against whom remained undisposed 
 of by reason of the disagreement of the jury, no doubt ex- 
 isted of their having acted under the fullest knowledge that 
 Morgan vi^as forcibly imprisoned in the magazine. Not- 
 withstanding the efforts of the defendants, first to exclude 
 the testimony of Giddings, and then to destroy his credi- 
 bility, the special counsel declared his belief that the truth 
 ©f his relation was not impaired. 
 
LETTER XLIV. 50^ 
 
 As to an indictment yet pending in Genesee^ and another 
 in Monroe, the commissioner gave it as his opinion that there 
 was not sufficient testimony within his knowledge to justify 
 him in bringing either of the parties to trial. In regard to 
 the first, there was also another objection, arising from the 
 manner in which the indictment had been procured — less 
 than twelve jurors having agreed to find a bill. This 
 bill, however, had been presented in pursuance of a com- 
 pact by the jury at the commencement of their session: 
 their body was very thin, and they had agreed that bills 
 found by a majority should be presented. In respect to the 
 case in Monroe county, (that of the Rev. Mr. Cumings, 
 now settled in Pennsylvania,) Mr. Birdseye had been as- 
 sured by his predecessor in office, that it neither could nor 
 ought to be brought to trial, until Simeon B. Jewett was 
 placed in a situation to be examined as a witness ; and 
 from the course this cause had taken, and the length of time 
 that must elapse before it could be carried through the 
 Court of Errors, he did not think it would be right to hold 
 the indictment over the head of a citizen to await such 
 a contingency. For these, and other reasons, which he 
 was ready to communicate to the Governor, the special 
 counsel advised the entry of a nolle prosequi in both cases. 
 
 In regard to the indictments against Adams, Whitney, 
 Chubbuck, and Beach, the special counsel intimated an opin- 
 ion that no further testimony could be procured, and no ad- 
 ditional facts developed; and of course the inference was, 
 that no good would result from further proceedings in the 
 premises. Should they be still prosecuted, however, the 
 District Attorney of Niagara, he thought, would be abun- 
 dantly able, with the lights of former investigations before 
 him, to take charge of the matter. There would, therefore, 
 be no farther need of continuing the office of special coun- 
 sel. The document of which I have thus presented a brief 
 abstract, is the last official paper connected with the Mor-s 
 gan trials. With continued regard, I am, &c. 
 
510 LETTER XLT. 
 
 LETTER XLV. 
 
 New- York, March 28, 1832. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In the month of April, 1831, a case was tried before a 
 local magistrate, in the county of Chenango, New- York, 
 which deserves to be noted among the minor occurrences 
 of the present history. I have, formerly, had occasion to 
 speak of those seceding Masons, who have traversed the 
 country, giving exhibitions of the process of conferring the 
 several degrees, — broad caricatured representations, of 
 course, — but, probably, marked with strong resemblances. 
 There have been two classes of these exhibitors, viz: — 
 those who have resorted to the measure as the most effec- 
 tual method of inducing the fraternity to relinquish the or- 
 der, and those who have practised the new vocation as 
 showmen, for the mammon of unrighteousness. Their re- 
 ception has been different with different classes of the com- 
 munity. The wonder-loving uninitiated, have crowded 
 the exhibitions to arrive at a practical knowledge of the 
 mighty mysteries of the craft ; those nominal Masons who 
 have forfeited membership by non user, and who are anxi- 
 ous to have the institution numbered among things forgot- 
 ten, have laughed at the joke of seeing fools so readily 
 parted from their money ; while the zealous adhering 
 Masons, who seem determined to be buried due east and 
 west with their aprons on, have been exceedingly annoyed, 
 without possessing either the wisdom, or the philosophy, to 
 conceal their vexation. In some places w^here these exhi- 
 bitions have been advertised, the Masons have met in num- 
 
LETTER XLV. 511 
 
 bers, and put them down. In others, they have deterred 
 the showmen by intimidations ; and in others, again, actu- 
 al riots, though none of a very serious description, have 
 occurred. 
 
 In the case of which I am now to speak, however, a still 
 different method was resorted to, with a view of putting 
 an end to these exhibitions altogether. The laws of this 
 state prohibit showmen from traversing the country, and 
 picking the pockets of the people by their exhibitions, with- 
 out procuring a license for each exhibition, from two mag- 
 istrates of the town where their kick-shows, or feats of jug- 
 glery, are to be displayed for the edification of 'the multi- 
 tude. The penalty for each unlicensed exhibition of the 
 kind contemplated by the statute, is twenty-five dollars. 
 Much to the annoyance of my brother Masons of the town 
 of New Berlin, in the county of Chenango, a man by the 
 name of Harlowe C. Witherell came among them, and 
 gave an exhibition, " for gain or profit," of what he called 
 in his advertisement, " a practical demonstration of the first 
 " seven degrees of Freemasonry." Fired with indignation 
 at having their hallowed rites thus exposed to the vulgar gaze, 
 at twenty-five cents per capita of the spectators, the over- 
 seers of the poor, to whom the revenues derived from show- 
 men accrue, incontinenily commenced a prosecution for 
 the recovery of the penalty attached to a violation of the 
 law. Connected with the exhibition were also a series of 
 painted illustrations of Freemasonry, which were specified 
 in the second count of the plaintiff's declaration. 
 
 Although the action was brought before a justice of 
 the peace, yet, its nature gave it speedy notoriety, and 
 imparted to it a high degree of interest in that community. 
 On the day of trial, three lawyers appeared on a side. 
 The counsel for the defendant demanded a jury. A venire 
 was accordingly issued, and a panel summoned by a con- 
 stable who happened to be a Master Mason. The counsel 
 
512 LETTER XLV. 
 
 for the defendant challenged the array, upon that ground, 
 and also because some of the jurors summoned were Ma- 
 sons, as likewise was one of the plaintiffs. The counsel 
 for the latter declined arguing the question. The defen- 
 dant's counsel then read from the statute, to show, that, if a 
 constable be in any way interested against or in favor of 
 either party, it is a good cause of challenge. The coun- 
 sel for the plaintiffs replied, and denied the cause of chal- 
 lenge. The defence rejoined, and made a specific offer to 
 prove that the masonic obligations are of such a nature, as 
 to disqualify its members from acting impartially in a case 
 of this kind. The court decided that witnesses might be 
 called and examined to the points specified by the defen- 
 dant's counsel. TJiree witnesses were then successively 
 called, who proved the fact, that the constable and one of 
 the plaintiffs were Freemasons — the first a Master Mason, 
 and the second of the degree of Royal Arch. They all 
 swore, substantially, to the accuracy of the obligations as 
 disclosed by Morgan, and printed in Bernard's Light on 
 Masonry, to which I have already referred. Tv^o of the 
 witnesses were examined at considerable length as to the 
 Master Mason's obligation, of which they gave no very fa- 
 vorable impressions. 
 
 A third witness was tlien called, but the counsel for the 
 prosecution expressed a wish to go no further into this 
 question, whereupon the array was quashed by the court, 
 and a new venire issued and given to a constable who was 
 not a Mason, and by whom another jury was summoned. 
 In opening the cause to the jury, the plaintifTs counsel stat- 
 ed the nature of the prosecution, and the grounds upon 
 which a verdict was claimed. The exhibition of Wither- 
 ell, which had been held without the permission of the mag- 
 istracy of the town, they maintained to be an " idle show," 
 within the meaning of the statute which prohibits the 
 exhibition of "idle shows, such as common showmen, 
 
LETTER XLV. 513 
 
 " mountebanks, or jugglers usually exhibit." The Masons, 
 it was likewise said, were " a distinct society," unlike all 
 "other societies." The exhibition, by the defendant, was 
 proved by two witnesses, who described the ceremonies. 
 One of them, on his cross-examination, said he had seen 
 several performances, but had never seen " common show- 
 " men, mountebanks or jugglers" give such an exhibition. 
 The question " whether the defendant had stated that what 
 " he had exhibited was true Freemasonry," was objected 
 to by the prosecution — argued on both sides — and the ob- 
 jection sustained by the court. The prosecution here rest- 
 ed their cause. 
 
 The counsel for the defendant in his opening, denied that 
 his exhibition was any violation of the statute. It in no 
 respect came under the section of the law prohibiting the 
 exhibitions " of common showmen, mountebanks and jug- 
 " glers," inasmuch as it was a true and genuine exhibition 
 of Freemasonry. There was neither jugglery, trick, nor 
 deception ; and they relied upon the proof of this fact for 
 the acquittal of the defendant. The first witness called, 
 was examined as to the nature of the exhibition. He gave 
 a minute account of all the particulars. On the swearing 
 of the second witness, an objection was raised by the coun- 
 sel for the prosecution, against calling upon Masons to 
 prove their ceremonies and secrets ; but, after argument 
 . upon both sides, the objection was overruled. 
 
 The examination proceeded, and the witness proved the 
 correctness of the exhibition, so far as it related to the first 
 three degrees. Gen. Augustus C. Welch, a Royal Arch 
 Mason, and sheriff of the county, was next called. He un- 
 derwent a long and minute examination upon the general 
 tenor, and particular phraseology of the masonic obliga- 
 tions, and upon the rites and ceremonies of the lodge-room. 
 The general scope of his testimony, confirmed the substan- 
 
 65 
 
514 LETTER XLV. 
 
 tial accuracy of the obligations, as given by Morgan and 
 Bernard, with the few and unimportant exceptions. 
 
 John Pike, a justice of the peace, also testified to the 
 general accuracy of the obligations, as read to him from 
 Bernard's book, although he pointed out a few variations. 
 
 Another witness was called ; but the counsel for the pro- 
 secution said they were perfectly willing to admit that he 
 would testify precisely as the two witnesses last mentioned 
 had done, and they entreated the defence to persist no long- 
 er in this examination. The witness was, however, very 
 briefly examined respecting a few prominent features of 
 the obligations, and his testimony strictly accorded with 
 that which had preceded him. General Welch and Jus- 
 tice Pike were both examined very fully as to the ceremo- 
 nies of the lodges and chapters — examinations which were 
 never gone into on any of the Morgan trials. Only a sy- 
 nopsis of their disclosures upon this branch of the subject, 
 has been preserved in the report of the case, as furnished 
 me by one of the counsel ; but, as far as this abstract goes, 
 it corresponds with sufficient verisimilitude, to the Ritual 
 recently published by Allyn. 
 
 The case was committed to the jury at six o'clock in 
 the morning. At nine, the jury came into court, and stat- 
 ed that they could not agree. They w^ere thereupon dis- 
 charged. Five were in favor of acquitting the defendant, 
 and one for liis conviction. Counsel for the prosecution, 
 Messrs. Nathan Beardsley, John Hyde, and Lyman J. 
 Daniels. For the defendant, Messrs. Noah Ely, Charles 
 A. Troup, and John C. Morris. 
 
 It is not the intrinsic importance of this case, in itself 
 considered, that has induced me to present a sketch of it 
 for your perusal. It derives some importance, however, 
 from the illustration it affords of the state of feeling which 
 yet pervades a large portion of the people, in regard to 
 the masonic institution. 
 
LETTER XLV. 615 
 
 In May, 1831, Solomon C. Wright was brought to trial 
 on the indictment against him for perjury, at the Ontario 
 General Sessions. He had sworn that no suspicious car- 
 riage had arrived at his house in September, 1826, and 
 had denied other circumstances calculated to identify the 
 persons and the carriage conveying Morgan. On his trial, 
 it was abundantly shown that his testimony in these re- 
 spects was false ; but the court held that the materiality of 
 these facts, in the original case, was not sufficiently shown, 
 and he, too, was acquitted. This is the last trial that has 
 taken place, growing out of the abduction of William 
 ^ Morgan. 
 
 The next in order, is a trial before the Circuit Court of 
 this state, (Judge Vanderpool presiding,) held at Albany 
 on the 13th of September, 1831, wherein Jacob Gould was 
 plaintiff, and Thurlow Weed was defendant. 
 
 In the month of October, 1829, the defendant was edi- 
 tor of a newspaper at Rochester, (where both parties then 
 resided,) called the Anti-masonic Enquirer, in which three 
 publications were made, viz., on the 6th, the 13th, and the 
 20th of that month, constituting the grounds of the action 
 brought against him. 
 
 The first, viz., the paper of the 6th, stated that " some 
 " months after the abduction of William Morgan, a large 
 " sum of money was placed in the hands of General Jacob 
 " Gould, of this village, (Rochester,) the then Grand Scribe 
 " of the Grand Royal Arch, ostensibly for * charitable pur^ 
 "^^y<^ses.^ That a part of this money was paid to a gen- 
 " tleman at Lewiston, and that other sums were expended 
 " at Gaines and Batavia — and that General Gould subse- 
 " quently reported to the Grand Chapter, that he had used 
 « the money in the manner, and for the purposes for which 
 " it was appropriated." 
 
 In the next, viz., the paper of the 13th October, a letter 
 from General Gould was published, in which he stated that 
 
516 LETTER XLV. 
 
 ** In February, after the abduction of Morgan, I was elect- 
 " ed one of the officers of the Grand Chapter, and as it is 
 " usual, particularly in masonic bodies, there were funds 
 " appropriated for charity. During the year I held said of- 
 " fice, I received one hundred dollars,' and expended it in 
 " small sums, not only ' ostensibly,^ but really for charity, 
 " and it is the only money that ever came into my hands 
 " from the chapter, or any other masonic body, during that, 
 •* or any other year." 
 
 To this letter was subjoined a comment by the defen- 
 dant, in which he asserted, that the plaintiff" paid fifty dol- 
 " lars to a gentleman of Lewiston, to defra;f the expenses 
 ** of Mrs. Monroe, her son, and the convict Cron, from 
 " Canada, to give testimony in relation to the body found 
 " at Oak Orchard Creek." He also averred, that in the 
 month of June preceding, a conversation was held in Ro- 
 chester between a distinguished counsellor at law whom he 
 named, and Jacob T. B. Van Vechten, Esq., of Albany, 
 the successor of General Gould to the office of Grand 
 Scribe, in which the latter stated, " that funds had been ap- 
 "propriated by the Grand Chapter, in 1827, for charitable 
 "purposes, six hundred dollars of wliteh were placed in the 
 "hands of General Gould, the then Grand Scribe, who had 
 " reported the following year, that he had expended the 
 " money for the purpose contemplated — but that he produc- 
 " ed no vouchers." 
 
 On the 20th October, the defendant copied into the Anti- 
 masonic Enquirer, a letter addressed by the plaintiff to the 
 editors of the Rochester Republican, 'in which he declares 
 that he is authorized by his successor in office, alluded to, 
 (Mr. V. V.) to pronounce the conversation mentioned, so far 
 as he is concerned, to be utterly false. He proceeds to re- 
 mark — " the statements also, that I paid fifty dollai's, or any 
 « other sum to get Mrs. Monroe, or any other person from 
 ** Canada, or the insinuation that I ever paid one cent to 
 
^ XdJf 
 
 LETTER XLV. 517 
 
 "aid any one concerned in the abduction of Morgan, to get 
 " them clear of punishment, or any other person, is also 
 " false." To this communication, as well as to the former, 
 the defendant added comments on its republication. The 
 vituperative parts on both sides I shall omit, and present 
 only those substantial points that conduce to the issue. The 
 defendant repeats his former averment relative to the pay- 
 ment of fifty dollars by the plaintiff, towards defraying the 
 expenses of Mrs. Monroe and Cron, (the man who came 
 from Canada with her in search of the body of her hus- 
 band,) and adds — "I shall prove (alluding to the allegation of 
 " Gen. Gould that he had commenced a prosecution against 
 " defendant,) that while he was acting, (or pretending to 
 ."act,) upon a committee appointed by the people of Mon- 
 " roe County, to investigate the masonic outrage, he fur- 
 " nished money to ■ enable at least one of the kidnappers to 
 " escape from justice. I shall (hen prove that he has de- 
 " liberately and solemnly sworn that he utterly disapprov- 
 " ed of the whole outrage, and that he had no agency in it, 
 " either before or after its commission." 
 
 The foregoing presents the ground on which the declar- 
 ation, consisting of several counts, was framed against the' 
 defendant. On the trial, the counsel for the plaintiff" aban- 
 doned all the counts except the third, which charged the 
 plaintiff with furnishing money to enable one of the kid- 
 nappers of Morgan to escape from justice, and that he af- 
 terwards swore before a grand jury that he had no partici- 
 pation in the transaction before or after its commission. 
 To these charges they would strictly confine the inquiry. 
 
 Stipulations of counsel had been entered into relative to 
 the admission of certain facts, part of which were read by 
 the counsel for the plaintiff, and among which was the pub- 
 lication of the paragraph recited. The remainder of the 
 stipulation, the counsel for the defendant proposed to read, 
 but it was overruled by the court, except that which ad- 
 
618 LETTER XLV. 
 
 mitted Burrage Smith to have been concerned in the ab- 
 duction of William Morgan. 
 
 The defendant's counsel then offered to prove that the 
 article complained of, was in reply to the plaintifPs publica- 
 tion in the Rochester Daily Advertiser. This likev^ise was 
 overruled, as was also an offer on the part of the defen- 
 dant's counsel to read the whole of the article in the Anti- 
 masonic Enquirer of October 20th, upon a clause in which 
 the plaintiff relied for damages. 
 
 The defendant then offered a stipulation admitting that 
 Burrage Smith was concerned in the abduction of Morgan 
 which was allowed and proved. 
 
 John O. Cole, who had been secretary of the Grand 
 Royal Arch Chapter of the state of New- York, from 1825 
 to the date of the trial, was next sworn. He testified that 
 a resolution was passed by that body on the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1827, in the following words : — " Resolved, that the 
 "** sum of one thousand dollars be placed at the disposal of 
 " the trustees, to be by them, in their discretion, applied to 
 " charitable purposes." Gen. Gould, as Grand Scribe, was 
 one of the trustees of this fund, as was also the witness. 
 On the same 10th February, another resolution was passed 
 to place three hundred of the one thousand dollars appro- 
 priated for charitable purposes, in the hands of Jacob Gould, 
 for which he was to account. These resolutions were en- 
 tered in the regular course of their occurrence, on the 
 books of the Grand Chapter. On the 9th February, 1827, 
 the day previous to the above appropriation, the following 
 extract is found upon the same book. 
 
 " The receipts of the year will not equal the expenses of 
 '« the session by more than three hundred dollars. Numer- 
 -« ous applications are made for widows and orphans, and 
 "there are other pressing claims upon the funds." The 
 witness further testified, that on the same day the commit- 
 tee on charities made a report, appropriating, in small sums. 
 
LETTER XLV. 519 
 
 to various applicants, two hundred and ninety-five dollars, 
 which was all .that could be bestowed in charities, without 
 encroaching upon the permanent fund of the Grand 
 Chapter. 
 
 Garret L. Dox, who was treasurer of the Grand Chap- 
 ter for many years, including the period alluded to, testifi- 
 ed that the usual mode of dispensing charity was to pass in 
 detail upon individual claims, after they had been examined 
 by a committee ; — was present when the appropriation of 
 one thousand dollars was made on the 10th of February, 
 1827 ; never knew an instance of general appropriation for 
 charity before, nor to so large an amount, either before or 
 since ; it was offered and passed, he thinks, without re- 
 marks. Witness paid Gould (plaintiff',) three hundred dol- 
 lars out of the one thousand dollars appropriated, immedi- 
 ate — and subsequently paid one hundred dollars more on 
 plaintiff''s draft — as also, at a still later period, one hundred 
 or one hundred and fifty dollars on Gould's drafts, for which 
 sums plaintiff* has never accounted, to witness's knowledge. 
 
 Garret W. Ryckman, who had been treasurer of the 
 Grand Chapter since 1830, produced the books, shewing 
 that nine hundred and fifty dollars were paid in 1827, un- 
 der the general head of " charity, ^^ without designating the 
 recipient. Witness was satisfied that the two hundred and 
 ninety-five dollars reported by the committee as before 
 mentioned, are not included in the entry of nine hundred 
 and fifty dollars. A receipt at the end of the year 1827,. 
 had been cut out of the receipt book. None other was mis- 
 sing from the whole book. 
 
 Robert Martin, testified, that in 1828 he was a member 
 of a committee appointed by the Grand Chapter, to audit 
 the accounts of the treasurer. Recollects among the vouch- 
 ers, a draft for three hundred dollars, with Mr. Watts's 
 name upon it, as money paid to Gould ; thinks also, there 
 was a draft of one hundred dollars from Gould. " In 1827 
 
520 LETTER XLV. 
 
 " Di'. Eights, of Albany, wrote to witness requesting him 
 " to get a draft for one hundred dollars, of General Gould, 
 " upon the charity fund. Witness called upon General 
 " Gould, received the draft, and sent it to Dr. Eights. Wit- 
 " ness did not shew Dr. Eights's letter to General Gould. 
 " There was nothing said about the object for which the 
 " money was wanted. Gould asked witness no questions 
 " and took no voucher." 
 
 The defendant's counsel offered to prove that Gould had 
 made a communication to the public, in a newspaper, stat- 
 ing that he had received one hundred dollars from the 
 Grand Chapter, which he had expended in small sums for 
 real charity, and that he had received no other money what- 
 ever from any masonic body for any purpose ; but the mo- 
 tion was overruled by the court. 
 
 Dr. Jonathan Eights testified, that as an officer of a lodge, 
 in Albany, having occasion to use some money for charita- 
 ble purposes, and knowing that Gould had the control of 
 the masonic funds for such purposes, he wrote to Mr. Mar- 
 tin to get a draft from Gould for one hundred dollars, which 
 was done, and the same was received by the witness. 
 
 To a question by defendant, as to what Dr. Eights did 
 with this one hundred dollars, the counsel for plaintiff* ob- 
 jected. The court asked the defendant's counsel what they 
 expected to prove, who replied that they would prove by 
 Dr. Eights that this one hundred dollars went to Burrage 
 Smith, one of the kidnappers of Morgan, to enable him to 
 escape from justice, and was the same one hundred dollars 
 referred to in the clause upon which the plaintiff' claimed 
 damages. The court decided that 4he defendant must first 
 prove that Gould knew the object to which the money was 
 to be applied, and therefore overruled the testimony. 
 
 The witness stated, in continuation, that Gould never 
 asked him to account for the money, nor did he ever con- 
 verse with him about its appropriation. Witness afterwards 
 
LETTER XLV* 621 
 
 received two drafts from Gould, of two hundred dollars 
 each, in favor of Edward Doyle, and drew therewith four 
 hundred dcllars from the Grand Treasury, and deposited 
 the same in a bank to Doyle's credit. 
 
 Samuel Barton was adduced to prove that Gould paid 
 fifty dollars to the witness, out of the one thousand dollar 
 fund, to defray, in part, the expenses of investigating a body, 
 said to be Morgan's, found on the shore of Lake Ontario; 
 but the testimony was overruled. 
 
 Robert King testified, that S. P. Gould & Co. (of which 
 firm the plaintiflf was one,) had an account against witness 
 and Burrage Smith, who were partners. When it was 
 rendered, witness told plaintifi" that fifty dollars of it was 
 Burrage Smith's private account, which he, (witness,) would 
 not pay, offering to pay the residue. Gould told witness 
 that if he would pay the whole bill, he (Gould,) would re- 
 ceipt it, and give v/itness a draft on John O. Cole, for the 
 fifty dollars which was due from Burrage Smith. The ac- 
 count was settled in the manner proposed, and witness took 
 a letter from Gould to Cole, in June, 1827, upon which he 
 got the fifty dollars.* Smith had absconded the February 
 preceding. Gould told witness that it was so arranged that 
 Cole would pay the order, which he did. 
 
 Mr. Cole, being recalled, stated that he paid the fifty dol- 
 lars to King, not out of his private monies, but from the 
 masonic funds. 
 
 General Vincent Matthews was sworn, by whom the 
 counsel for the plaintiff" proposed to shew that Gould, after 
 this action had been commenced, stated that he had never 
 received but one hundred dollars from the Grand Chapter, 
 and that it was distributed in small charities. They also 
 oflfered to prove, by the same witness, the truth of the whole 
 conversation attributed to J. T. B. Van Vechten, Esq., (as 
 published in the Anti-masonic Enquirer, of October 13th, 
 previously referred to,) from which the controversy and 
 
 6a 
 
522 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 action originated. Objections were made to the admission 
 on both points, and they were sustained by the court. 
 
 The plaintiff called no witnesses. The cause was sum- 
 med up by counsel on both sides, and committed to the 
 jury, who returned a verdict of four hundred dollars for the 
 plaintiff. A bill of exceptions was taken by the counsel 
 for the defendant, and the cause has been carried up to the 
 Supreme Court. It remains suh judice, and I shall there- 
 fore forbear making the comments which such an unusual 
 course of proceedings, in a libel suit, would, under other 
 circumstances, amply justify. 
 
 ^ - With respect, I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 New-York^ March 30, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The conduct of the newspaper press in regard to the 
 facts comprised in this eventful history, has been a prolific 
 source of complaint. After the sitting of the Le Roy Con- 
 vention, however, in February, 1828, the denunciations of 
 the press became less frequent in popular meetings, although 
 the Anti-masonic conventions have never ceased to recur 
 to it, and the subject has repeatedly called forth the finest 
 declamatory powers of the Hon. Richard Rush. But while 
 in the preceding pages I have more than once been con- 
 strained to admit that there has been a very grievous fault 
 in this matter, on the part of a large portion of the public 
 press ; yet there has been much of exaggeration in the 
 charges so sweepingly urged against it ; and even Mr. 
 Rush, upon this topic, appears throughout to more advan- 
 tage as an impassioned rhetorician, than as an accurate 
 commentator upon matters of fact. Much, therefore, can 
 
LETTER XLVI. 523 
 
 be said on both sides. The charge is, that, by masonic 
 influence and masonic power, — by the appHcation of gold in 
 some instances, and of threats in others, — the whole news- 
 paper press of the land, prior to the establishment of pro- 
 fessedly Anti-masonic papers, and the whole press except the 
 Anti-masonic, since, down even to the present day, — has' 
 been kept dumb in regard to the unparalleled outrage upon 
 Morgan, and the extraordinary transactions connected 
 therewith. To this extent, or to any thing like it, the charge 
 is untrue. 
 
 There are several considerations upon this subject which 
 require weighing before it can be properly understood. In 
 the earlier part of the excitement, the apparent silence of 
 the press, especially at a distance, arose from a cause 
 which I have already explained, — the incredulity, as hon- 
 est as it was general, — that existed in regard to the whole 
 matter. It was not believed that any real outrage had been 
 committed, — or rather, perhaps, such were the doubts and 
 contradictions respecting the affair, that the conductors of 
 
 the press knew not what course to take, or what to say 
 
 When, however, it was discovered to be a reality, there 
 was by no means that degree of profound and universal si- 
 lence that Anti-masons represent to have been observed. 
 If I am not very widely mistaken, the earlier trials were 
 published in many papers. The Ontario Repository,— one 
 of the most faithful and vigilant of the public sentinels at 
 the west, — stationed in the midst of the excitement, — though 
 far from being an Anti-masonic paper, was, nevertheless, 
 prompt and full in its reports of the trials, — the greater 
 number of which were held in the beautiful village of its lo- 
 cation. The reports of that paper uniformly reappeared in 
 the journals with which I am connected, until all the facts 
 of the conspiracy, abduction, and journey to Fort Niagara, 
 had been published over and over again. Ample notices 
 were likewise published, from time to time, of the trials that 
 
524 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 followed, in which every new fact was carefully noted, un- 
 til the last great trials came on at Lockport, when another 
 case was published at once, and spread before the public 
 with all its appalling and lengthened details. The occa- 
 sional proceedings of the legislature, including most of the 
 debates, were also published to as full an extent as the 
 limits of an imperial sheet would permit, allowing a rea- 
 sonable share of space for the discussion of the various 
 other important matters crowding upon the public attention. 
 These facts are referred to, not for the purpose of claiming 
 any particular merit, but merely to show, that Mr. Rush, 
 and other declaimers upon this subject, have paid too little 
 regard to the actual facts of the case. There w^ere other 
 papers' which adopted the same course, until their conductors 
 honestly believed that the public had become thoroughly 
 acquainted with the leading facts of the case. 
 
 But the truth is, the Anti-masons required too much at 
 the hands of those publishers who were actuated by a sin- 
 cere desire to deal with the most perfect fairness towards 
 all parties. They required the republication of all the tri- 
 als, at full length, (hough column after column of the testi- 
 mony taken at each, was but a stale repetition of what had 
 often been proved and published before ; — they required a 
 republication of all the reports and documents, which follow- 
 ed each other upon the subject, in one or both branches of 
 successive legislatures, though, like the trials, these papers 
 were again for the most part repetitions ;~and they also 
 required at our hands, a publication of all the reports and 
 speeches, and resolutions, and journals, which the thousand 
 and one popular meetings and conventions sent forth, de- 
 luging the country for three or four years. A compliance 
 with requisitions like these, was impracticable. It would 
 have excluded almost every thing else of public interest, re- 
 specting the affairs of foreign nations, and the high and va- 
 ried interests of our own country, from the columns of the 
 
LETTER XLVI. 525 
 
 largest papers in the Union ; while the small village jour- 
 nals, published but once a week, which at best can do no 
 more than furnish an inadequate abridgement of the events 
 of the day, would have been smothered with Anti-masonry 
 in a single month : and yet the charge against the press, 
 without discrimination or exception, was, that it had been 
 bribed, or- awed into silence, by the Masons. Sir, however 
 reprehensible may have been the conduct of a large pro- 
 portion of the public press in this matter, — and that it was 
 reprehensible I have not hesitated to admit, — the evil was 
 not thus produced. I have no idea that either bribery, or 
 intimidation, was exerted to any considerable extent. There 
 might, it is true, have been a few individual cases, like that 
 of the threat of a man by the name of Doyle, to an unpat- 
 ronised weekly paper in Rochester ; but, sir, you may rest 
 assured that the instances were exceedingly few. My own 
 experience is not inconsiderable in this matter : the course 
 which I adopted as an editor, was such as to draw forth as 
 much hostility from the conspirators an(J their friends, and 
 those who palliated their conduct, as that of any other in- 
 dividual in the country ; and, I am free to say, that although 
 some of our masonic subscribers have differed with me, yet 
 with the masonic proscriptions of which I have heard so 
 much, in the Anti-masonic papers, we have never been vis- 
 ited. It is possible that the establishment in which I am 
 interested, may have lost fifteen or twenty friends, from the 
 independent tone which has been adopted in regard to this 
 matter ; but such a loss is unworthy of being mentioned. It 
 is not greater than is felt upon many other occasions. There 
 is scarcely any subject of morals or religion, or of the pub- 
 lic policy of the government, the free discussion of which 
 does not, at one time or other, give offence in some quarter ; 
 and in all such cases, subscribers of papers whose minds 
 are too narrow to tolerate any difference with their own 
 favorite notions or opinions, resort at once to the withdrawal 
 
526 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 of their names, as the most convenient and certain mode of 
 retahation or revenge ; — as the most powerful method of 
 exerting their own intellects. These are occurrences with 
 which every editor who occasionally ventures to essay an 
 opinion of his own, must be familiar : but in regard to the 
 subject before us, I hesitate not to assert, that in the exer- 
 cise of this narrow-minded and American mode of attempt- 
 ing to shackle the freedom of discussion, on a comparison 
 of facts, the Anti-masons would have little whereof to boast 
 on the score of liberality. While they have been talking of 
 the proscriptive threats of the Masons towards such papers 
 as should dare to publish the Morgan trials, they have them- 
 selves been acting upon the same principle. The proscrip- 
 tive resolutions proceeding from their conventions and po- 
 pular assemblages, have been numberless ; while, so far as 
 my own experience goes, I believe 1 am warranted in say- 
 ing, that as miany Anti-masons have testified their displea- 
 sure because I have not gone far enough with them, as have 
 the Masons, becai^se, in the opinion of some of that order, 
 I have gone tob far. My object, throughout, has been 
 TRUTH without FEAR ; " aud as the good public has always 
 more than made up the trifling losses sustained from both 
 extremes, there has been additional cause for believing in 
 *the soundness of the maxim, " in medio tutissimus ibis." 
 
 This practice of withdrawing subscriptions from papers, 
 on every trivial occasion, for a mere difference of opinion 
 between the editor and subscriber, upon accidental ques- 
 tions, more frequently abstract than of national importance, 
 I have ventured above to denominate American. In no 
 other country, according to the best information I can ob- 
 tain, is it so frequently resorted to, as in this : and in my 
 view, it is but a sorry method of manifesting displeasure, or 
 dissent. With papers long established, and liberally sup- 
 ported, these individual instances of private proscription, 
 can have little effect ; but in respect of papers enjoying 
 
LETTER XLVI* 527 
 
 slender patronage, and struggling for existence, they strike 
 at the root of the freedom of thought and discussion. In 
 this point of view, connected with the erroneous principle 
 upon which all our public journals are established, this il- 
 liberal system may be said to work essential injury. So far 
 as it goes, it is directly at war with free discussion, and the 
 independence of the press. Far better would it be, in this 
 respect, if, in the work of composing and vending newspa- 
 pers, there was the same division of labor, which exists in 
 the Europ^ean capitals. There, the editors and publishers 
 have no personal knowledge of their supporters, as such ; 
 here, they are known to nearly all ; and the support which 
 newspapers receive, is but too frequently begged on the one 
 hand, and bestowed on the other, more in the form of per- 
 sonal favoritism, than in the manly and independent course 
 of business, in which favors are neither known nor acknow- 
 ledged on either hand. Where such are the relations be- 
 tween publisher and subscriber, there is no such thing as the 
 freedom of the press. Every paragraph must be carefully 
 balanced, and frequently all its pungency and meaning 
 must be frittered away, to render it inoffensive to Mr. A., or 
 palatable to Mr. B. Even gross official delinquencies must 
 remain unwhipped of justice, and the cause of morality left 
 to vindicate itself, lest peradventure the offending officer is 
 a 'patron I forsooth, or Mr. C. and Mr. D. do not acknow- 
 ledge the same criterion of orthodoxy, either in morals or 
 religion, which the publisher, according to his sense of dut-y, 
 would wish to uphold. 
 
 Let me not be misunderstood, however, as maintaining 
 the opinion that the subscribers to a paper have no right to 
 exercise this species of influence, or to manifest their dis- 
 pleasure in this way, under any, or even under very many, 
 circumstances. I am speaking only of respectable papers, 
 conducted by educated and responsible men, — by men who 
 have character at stake themselves, and whose principles 
 and general mode of conducting their papers, are upon all 
 
528 LETTER XL VI. 
 
 great cardinal principles of government, — upon all leading 
 measures of public policy — held in common by editor and 
 subscriber. It is in cases like these, that I condemn the 
 disposition so prevalent in this country, of endeavoring to 
 avenge every trifling disagreement, or even a casual error, 
 by striking at the pocket of the publisher. It is an ignoble 
 device, unworthy of all "who are willing that the same free- 
 dom of thought and action should be enjoyed by others, 
 which they glory in exercising themselves. But when edi- 
 tors are derilict in their duty to the public, — when they be- 
 lie their professions, and degrade their calling, — when they 
 prove 'recreant to their principles, or habitually violate the 
 proprieties of the press, and the courtesies and charities of 
 social life, — when, from change of conductors, or for base 
 bribes, they turn their backs upon old friends and old prin- 
 ciples, — or w^hen, from general licentiousness, personal 
 scurrility, a mockery of things sacred, and a disregard of 
 those principles of morality and virtue which form at once 
 the jewels of private life, and the true glory of the state, 
 a newspaper becomes unworthy of support, and unfit to be re- 
 ceived into families, — then is it a high moral duty to discard 
 the offender, and make him feel the heaviest weight of public, 
 as well as of private indignation and scorn. But in such in- 
 stances, the remedy should be effectually applied ; for every 
 effort to crush the growth of vicious principles, or to check the 
 career of those who disseminate them, which falls short of the 
 object, " serves no other purpose than to render them more 
 " known, and ultimately to increase the zeal and number 
 " of their abettors.*' 
 
 But to return to the subject of immediate consideration. 
 There is a cause for the silence of a very large portion of 
 the press, in regard to Morgan's abduction, and the transac- 
 tions connected with, and growing out of it, which did not 
 probably occur to Mr. Rush, when he penned his first and 
 principal philippic, but which is the most prominent of the 
 
LETTER XLVI. 529 
 
 xvhole. I mean the withering, palsying spirit of party, 
 which has taken such deep root in our soil, and which ex- 
 ercises such a fatal influence upon our political and social 
 relations. Scarcely had the public, beyond the confines of 
 the original excitement, begun to believe that there had 
 actually been an outrage, before the question assumed a de- 
 cidedly political aspect. This was at once fatal to every 
 e/Tort for a universal dissemination of correct information, 
 and for the cause of truth. The eloquent Robert Hall re- 
 marks, that " When a public outrage is committed against 
 *' the laws, the crime is felt in a moment." But this able 
 divine knew little of the nature of party spirit, as it is in- 
 culcated and fostered by the demagogues of the United 
 States. The spirit of party, here, has neither a tongue to 
 speak, nor ears to hear, nor eyes to see, any thing that may 
 perchance militate against its favorite objects or idols. 
 Hence, from the moment that Anti-masonry began to array 
 itself against the powers that be, the crime which had been 
 committed, could neither be seen, felt, nor exposed, by the 
 conductors of the party presses attached to the majority. 
 You may perhaps, sir, be startled at the boldness and ap- 
 parent incongruity of the assertion, but it is nevertheless 
 true, that there is but little freedom of the press in this 
 country. Talk as we please of the despotisms of Europe, — 
 of the restraints imposed upon the mind and the tongue, — 
 I hesitate not to avow, that neither in England nor in France, 
 is the press held in such abject subjection, as the great ma- 
 jority of the American presses are by demagogues, and the 
 discipline of party. It is said to be a difficult thing to draw 
 the line between the liberty of the press, and its licentious- 
 ness ; but heaven knows that in this country the line is as 
 broad and as visible as can be desired. We have licen- 
 tiousness enough on all sides, and upon every possible sub- 
 ject, ^he eye sickens at the profligacy -of the press, and 
 the mind turns from it with abhorrence and loathing. With 
 
 67 
 
530 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 this portion of the press, the bitterness of party is mingled 
 in every thing ; and the ferocity of its attacks, is equalled 
 only by the profligacy of its conductors. " Gorgons, hy- 
 " dras, and chimeras dire, are harmless monsters compar- 
 " ed with such a press. No matter how virtuous, how in- 
 " nocent, or elevated, or noble, or persuasive, or beneficent 
 " the character may be, which is the object of its extermi- 
 " nating purpose, — be it Socrates, or Cato, or Peter, or 
 " Paul, or John Rodgers, or the Saviour of men himself; 
 " there are neither e.yes, nor ears, nor heart, nor compunc- 
 " tion, nor feeling, nor flesh, nor blood. The general and 
 " inexorable cry, crucify ! crucify ! consummates the fate 
 " of the victim." Still, with all this apparent liberty, it is 
 not that liberty of the press which is the safeguard of free- 
 dom. There is among the mere party papers, little of that 
 noble spirit of independence, that is exercised in England 
 and France, which assumes the right of free and manly dis- 
 cussion of every subject in which the public becomes from 
 day to day interested, or which appertains to the political 
 or civil relations of the country. When a candidate is to 
 be assailed, or an incumbent hunted down, — no matter for 
 his services, his wants, the purity of his character, or his 
 claims upon the gratitude of his country, — " spare no ar- 
 " rows," is the maxim ; while the cause of sound morals, 
 and enlightened government, and the love of truth, are as 
 far from their thoughts as the remotest orb from the dull 
 sphere on which they arc unworthy to tread. It has been 
 well remarked by the anonymous author I have just quoted 
 above, that every good has its counterbalancing evil. " The 
 " contemplation of the delightful freedom of our institu- 
 « tions,. is most pleasant. But ihe extreme license, the 
 " coarse abuse, the gross' misrepresentations, the frequent 
 " and unprovoked assaults of private character, the wanton 
 " dragging of niamos before the public eye, — these are great 
 " counterbalancins: evils of freedom, for which there can 
 
LETTER XLVI. 531 
 
 " be no effectual corrective, but the slow and distant one, to 
 " be found in an enlightened public sentiment. Whenever 
 " general feeling shall be guided by gentlemanly tact, and 
 " correct conceptions of what is right, and respectable, and 
 " dignified, and of good report, any attempts of those who 
 " assume to sway that feeling, and direct the public senti- 
 « ment, to overstep the limits of decorum, unsustained by it, 
 " would be at once repressed by a general and palpably in- 
 " dignant expression of the public award in the case. The 
 '" rebuked party would be instantly awed back to propriety 
 " and duty. Unhappily, all the individual minds of which 
 " the public mind is composed, are so liable to be swayed by 
 " prejudice and passion, and there is so much temper in 
 *« party feeling, mixed up with all the expressions of the 
 " public will amongst us, that it is long before we may pro- 
 ^' mise ourselves, that they, who are the most efficient in 
 " guiding public opinion, will find their land-marks, and 
 " stand corrected when they go beyond them." The fer- 
 vent prayers of all good men are needed, that this time may 
 speedily come ; for unless it does, it is greatly to be fear- 
 ed that the evil w^ill have become incurable. A lax state 
 of political morals among the people, and a degenerate 
 press, operate with mutual and fatal effect upon each other, 
 and the course at the present day is tending downward 
 with fearful rapidity. 
 
 None knew better than Mr. Rush this low condition of 
 the party presses of the day ; the manner in which most 
 of them had been established ; or the effective party orga- 
 nization which they support, and by which in turn they 
 are supported. Whence, then, seeing that Anti-masonry 
 had become political, his surprise at their silence in regard 
 to the murder of Morgan, and the fruitless efforts, legisla- 
 tive, judicial, and by voluntary associations, made to dis- 
 cover and bring to punishment the authors ? It is not in 
 the case ef Morgatr^fone, that more than a moiety of the 
 
532 LETTER XLVI. 
 
 press has been silent. . There have been other atrocities, 
 equalling the outrage upon Morgan, that have been conceal- 
 ed from the readers of those papers, or denied, or extenu- 
 ated, for political purposes. Look at the conduct of the 
 same description of presses at the present moment. Look 
 at the government papers, from v^^hich, if from any, the 
 people should receive the fullest and most impartial details 
 of the public affairs of the land. The same vindictive spir- 
 it of party which I have been attempting to describe : the 
 same suppressions of every publication calculated to ren- 
 der even common justice to their political opponents: (he 
 same studied suppressions of the truth, which marked the 
 course of the presses opposed to Anti-masonry, is openly 
 practised, and publicly defended. An Enghsh or French 
 journalist, would scorn to suppress the speeches in opposi- 
 tion, in either the parliament, or the chambers. No mat- 
 ter how strong their party feelings, the presses on that side 
 of the Atlantic would never stoop so low as to deprive the 
 adversary of a fair hearing. The speeches and documents, 
 therefore, upon all questions of moment, are impartially re- 
 ported, and the comments of the editors, given thereon in 
 gentlemanly language. There is a degree of fairness and 
 manliness in this course of political conti'oversy, which 
 commands respect, and illustrates the true character and 
 uses of the freedom of the press. But instead of imitating 
 such examples, of candor and magnanimity, by publishing 
 the speeches of the soundest and most eloquent in opposi- 
 tion, our partizan prints, from the government official to the 
 end of the catalogue — make a merit of substituting there- 
 for, their own miserable commentaries and malignant dis- 
 tortions. Why, then, I would again ask, should Mr. Rush, 
 and the other leaders of the Anti-masonic party, after they 
 had made the controversy political, — and it began to as- 
 sume that aspect in a very short time, — dwell so much 
 upon the silence of the presses opposed to them? That si- 
 
LETTER XLVI. 5S8 
 
 ience, I repeat, was only in conformity to the tactics, — to 
 "the systems,"^of party discipline, and was in fact no 
 greater cause of marvel than is presented to our observa- 
 tion every month in the year. There may have been, and 
 there doubtless v^^ere, papers conducted by Masons, who 
 refused to break silence because they were such. But these 
 instances were few ; and it is the baneful influence of party 
 spirit, and the tyranny of party " systems," and the artful 
 appliances of controlling demagogues, to which we are to 
 look for the causes of what Mr. Rush has called " the dull 
 " insensibility of the press" in regard to the murder of Mor- 
 gan. It was not, therefore, because Morgan was slain by 
 Masons, that these presses were silent ; but because assist- 
 ance to those who were laboring to avenge the broken ma- 
 jesty of the laws, would have been injuring " the party." 
 And if another Morgan, and yet another, were to be ab- 
 ducted, and murdered, every month, so that a political con- 
 troversy would be made of it, the same course would again 
 be pursued by the same men. It is indeed a deplorable 
 state of things, — such as almost to induce a belief that the 
 press has become of questionable utility. Certainly, from 
 more than one half of the newspapers of the United 
 States, the people derive no benefit either on the score of 
 intelligence, or morals. The small modicum of knowledge 
 which is imparted to them, only leads them into error, and 
 instead of enlarging and liberalizing their minds, they are 
 narrowed by new-created prejudices, and blinded by mis- 
 representations that are not accidental. A great cause of 
 this alarming evil, is to be found in what the world igno- 
 rantly enough conceives to be a blessing, — the cheapness of 
 newspapers, and the facility with which new. ones are 
 established. In England, there is attached to the newspa- 
 per press, an array of talent and learning, which commands 
 the confidence and respect of the community. In France, 
 the great master spirits of literature and science — the first 
 
534 LETTER XLVir. 
 
 men of the age and country, are connected with the press. 
 Hence, when it speaks, it is with a degree of force, and en- 
 ergy, and talent, calculated to render the press that effec- 
 tive engine of moral power w^hich it was designed to be- 
 come. But it is far otherwise in this land of a thousand 
 newspapers. Five hundred dollars, raised by subscription, 
 will start a press ; every village must have its paper ; jealous- 
 ies arise, and that paper must have its competitor. Person- 
 alities soon take the place of argument, even upon local and 
 trivial matters : flippancy is mistaken for wisdom ; smart- 
 ness for talent ; epithet for argument ; and a reckless disre- 
 gard of the feelings of others, and of the courtesies of life, 
 for that manly independence which ought to characterize the 
 guardians of the citadel of freedom. 
 
 But nil desperandum should be the watch-word of eveiy 
 patriot: and though we have" in some respects fallen 
 upon evil times, yet we shall do well to remember, in the 
 words of Robert Hall, "that wisdom and truth, the offspring 
 " of the sky, are immortal ; while cunning and deception, 
 " the meteors of the earth, after glittering for a moment, 
 " must pass away.*' 
 
 With high regard, I am, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 New- York, March 31, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 The judicial history of Anti-masonry is closed, and 
 yet the inquiry remains : — " What was the fate of Morgan ?" 
 For notwithstanding the number and extent of the legal in- 
 vestigations described, — notwithstanding the number of 
 persons engaged, directly or indirectly, in the abduction, — 
 and notwithstanding, likewise, the fact, that some of the ac- 
 
LETTER XLVIt. 635 
 
 tors in the dark conspiracy, had become witnesses for the 
 state, no evidence had yet been elicited showing what was 
 the ultimate fate of the wretched victim ; or, if his life had 
 been taken, marking, with judicial certainty, the persons of 
 his executioners. It is indeed one of the most extraordina- 
 ry features of this conspiracy, that, when the fatal secret 
 must have been known, (at least with sufficient certainty to 
 have indicated the principals,) to so many people, no disclo- 
 sure should have been made of the particulars of the last 
 terrible act of the drama. Neither the apprehensions, nor 
 the jealousies, usually existing among partners in crime ; 
 nor the hope of reward ; nor the compunctious visitings of 
 conscience ; had the effect to produce any satisfactory le- 
 gal disclosures, in regard to the final disposition of Morgan, 
 after his confinement in the magazine.* This fact furnishes 
 the strongest possible illustration of the strength of the tie 
 which bound the conspirators together, while it affords an 
 unanswerable argument against the continuance of any so- 
 cial institution whatever, that can exert such a dangerous 
 power, for evil, as well as for good, if indeed good can again 
 flow from it. 
 
 The difficulty of procuring testimony, was, from the be- 
 ginning of the legal investigations, the greatest obstacle with 
 which the prosecutors had to contend. Witnesses either 
 fled the country voluntarily, or were spirited away, or were 
 hired to absent themselves, in numbers, and with a readi- 
 ness, altogether unexampled in the judicial annals of this, or 
 perhaps any other country. Often did it happen, that, when 
 the officers of justice had been apprised of the existence of 
 fresh testimony, or when they had become acquainted with 
 the place of retreat, far beyond the boundaries of our own 
 state, of important witnoRses, while they supposed the pos- 
 
 * EUsha Ailams, mig'ut, perhaps, have formci! an exception to this remark, 
 had not a misconception of duty, on the part of Governor Throop, induced 
 Jiimto withhohl the rev,'ard that liud hcen oftr'rcd h}' Governor Clinton. 
 
536 Letter xlvii. 
 
 session of such knowledge was a secret in their own bo- 
 soms, such witnesses have been secretly apprised that the 
 officers would soon be upon them, and were thus enabled 
 again to escape their vigilance. In other instances, have 
 these witnesses, when caught by surprise, while in charge 
 of the officers, been followed hundreds of miles by members 
 of the fraternity, interested in the fate of the accused, until 
 plans could be matured, and the means put into operation, 
 to steal them away from their keepers. In other cases still, 
 witnesses have no sooner agreed to make honest revela- 
 tions of the facts with which they were acquainted, than 
 they have been surrounded by their masonic brethren, and 
 so successfully dissuaded from their good resolutions, as to 
 become as silent and uncommunicative upon the subject as 
 the sphynx. Examples of this description have already 
 been noted in the progress of this history, and others might 
 be adduced were it necessary. Money seemed to be of no 
 value, in these matters. Travelling agents were kept in 
 pay, whose duty it was to visit the absconding witnesses in 
 their places of retreat, and strengthen their integrity to- 
 wards each other. Even Giddings, much as they affected 
 to discredit his testimony, was tampered with, and money 
 oftered him to any amount he might desire, if he would leave 
 the country. 
 
 Nor was this all. When, after encountering every diffi- 
 culty, the attendance of reluctant witnesses had been secur- 
 ed, their conduct, as it has already been seen, was often of 
 the most exceptionable character. In many instances, the 
 manner of the witnesses upon the stand, was painful to look 
 upon. Whatever of truth was obtained, was absolutely 
 wrung from them. There was not only an almost uniform 
 evasiveness of manner, among the masonic witnesses, but 
 numerous cases of obvious and palpable falsehood. " Some 
 " of them exercised a species of casuistry, in relation to their 
 "judicial oath, which is not a little remarkable. It seems 
 
LETTER XLVII. 537 
 
 *' that those implicated had argued themselves into the belief, 
 " that there was no greater sin than the breaking of a ma- 
 " sonic oath, even in obedience to the paramount laws of 
 " the land ; that if they told the truth in relation to theout- 
 " rage,' they should divulge a secret which they were ma- 
 "sonically bound to keep, which would criminate them- 
 " selves ; and that, therefore, their only course was to tes- 
 " tify that they knew nothing about the affair. Strange as 
 " is the infatuation manifested by this reasoning, there was 
 " not wanting a counsellor of the Supreme Court, a Royal 
 ** Arch Mason, to advise them, that if they were implicated 
 "in the affair, they might thus safely swear. Many wit- 
 " nesses, to whom circumstances almost unerringly pointed, 
 " as having a knowledge of, or being implicated in, some 
 *' portion of the transaction, did come forward, and solemnly 
 " make oath of their entire ignorance of it; while others, 
 *' pretending to give an account of their knowledge of the 
 " transaction, testified in such a way, as to leave an impres- 
 " sion upon the mind of every auditor, that they had not 
 " satisfied that part of their judicial oath, which required 
 " them to tell the whole truth. Witnesses, in several in- 
 " stances, came into court with their own counsel, a cir- 
 " cumstance unheard of in courts of justice before, to ad- 
 " vise with them what questions they were legally bound 
 "to answer." The instances of peremptory refusals to tes- 
 tify, in the cases of Bruce, Turner and John Whitney, have 
 already been stated, in the progress of the trials, too pro- 
 minently to be soon forgotten — for which contumacy they 
 were severally fined and imprisoned. But fines and impris- 
 onment, for this, or for the si ill greater offence of having 
 participated in the abduction, were nothing. The prison- 
 ers were cheered by their friends without, and lavishly 
 supplied with the comforts and elegancies of life, not only 
 by individual contributions, but by lodges and chapters, 
 
 hundreds of miles from the scens of action. Indeed, it 
 
 6S 
 
538 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 seemed as if the guilty portion of the fraternity, and the 
 not guilty, who, by the cry of *' persecution," had been 
 brought to sympathise with the sufferers, "had set down, 
 " and coolly counted the cost of the matter ; and come to 
 " the determination, that it was wise to shut the door com- 
 ** pletely against the bare chance of establishing the murder 
 " of Morgan, by any facts or inferences to be derived from 
 " their testimony, even though it should be done at the ex- 
 " pense of the liberty and property of some of its members. 
 " In these instances, the power of a portion of the fraterni- 
 " ty came into collision with the laws of the land, in a most 
 "marked manner, and set them, and their penal require- 
 " ments at defiance." 
 
 But notwithstanding all these difficulties, enough was 
 proved to render the fact morally certain, that the misera- 
 ble and unhappy Morgan was basely murdered, by a band 
 of assassins, in obedience, as they erroneously, and wicked- 
 ly, and most unaccountably, believed, to the laws of specu- 
 lative Freemasonry. Such was the belief to which Mr. 
 Spencer had arrived, in the course of his laborious investi- 
 gations ; and such, also, was the decided conviction of that 
 gentleman's successor in the office of special counsel. Mr. 
 Birdseye's language, in his final report to the Governor, is 
 this : — " The information thus elicited, is sufficient, I trust, 
 " to satisfy the public mind as to the ultimate fate of Mor- 
 " gan : that he was taken into the Niagara, at night, about 
 " the 19th of September, and there sunk. Yet the evidence, 
 " although apparently sufficient for all purposes of human 
 " belief, is not sufficient to establish, with legal certainty, 
 " and according to adjudged cases, the murder of Morgan." 
 
 There was strong circumstantial testimony warranting 
 this conclusion, in addition to that elicited at different times, 
 upon the various trials. The information communicated to 
 Mr. Terry, and several other Masons, in Canada, immedi. 
 ately after the transaction, was of a positive character, " that 
 
LETTER XLVII. 539 
 
 " Morgan had been murdered, and his body sunk in Lake 
 " Ontario." The declaration of Ganson, (who, though he 
 was acquitted, was unquestionably one of the original con- 
 spirators,) to Mr. Lyman D. Prindle, who furnished a depo- 
 sition to the Levviston Committee, was very strongly cor- 
 roborative of this fact. " Let me tell you," said Ganson to 
 Prindle, who had expressed an opinion that Morgan might 
 have been rescued, " you know nothing about it : suppose 
 " there had been carriages at. every road leading into Ca- 
 " nandaigua, ready to receive Morgan, in case he had been 
 " pursued ; he could have been shifted ; and let me tell you 
 *' it was the case : let me tell you, if you could hang, draw, 
 " and quarter, or gibbet the Masons who had a hand in it, it 
 " would not fetch Morgan back. He is not dead, hut he is 
 ^^put where he will stay puU until God Almighty calls for 
 " Aim." This is a strong item of circumstantial proof, — for the 
 words, " he is not dead," mean just nothing at all. The 
 emphasis belongs in the last clause of the declaration ; and 
 it was intended to convey a safe, and yet fearful meaning, not 
 to be misunderstood. At about the same period of time, 
 as it appears from the depositions of two individuals of the 
 town of Byron, in the county of Genesee, Dr. Samuel Tag- 
 gart, of said town, stated that he had long been apprised of 
 the fact,:— and that " he should not be afraid to bet a thou- 
 " sand dollars, that Morgan was not in the land of the liv- 
 " ing : that he had taken a voyage on Lake Ontario, without 
 " float or boat, and would never be seen again by any hu- 
 "• man being." Another Mason, at Batavia, stated, at about 
 the same time, in reply to an inquiry, that " Morgan had 
 " gone a-fishing, on the Niagara River." 
 
 Corroborative testimony, going to show that Morgan was 
 put to death, has also been disclosed in another, and unex* 
 pected quarter — Vermont. You will not, sir, have forgot- 
 ten the name of Dr. S. Butler — the same person who was 
 sent forward from Staflbrd to Batavia, to herald the ap- 
 
540 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 proach of Cheselioro's party in quest of Morgan, on the 
 evening of September 10th,— the same Dr. Butler who was 
 subsequently selected, by the sheriff of Genesee, as the fore- 
 man of a grand jury, whose duty it was to investigate the 
 circumstances of the outrage, and who, as foreman, declar- 
 ed that they must not permit the Masons to suffer. This. 
 Dr. Butler, it appears, sometime afterwards, removed to 
 Franklin County, in Vermont ; and I have now before me 
 sundry depositions, from respectable gentlemen in that coun- 
 ty, setting forth that, since Butler's removal thither, he has, 
 in repeated conversations with masons, admitted the murder 
 of Morgan to have taken place. . On- one occasion, during 
 an intermission in the meeting of Mississqui Lodge, he sta- 
 ted that " Morgan was killed, and that Col. William King, 
 " and two others, whose names the deponent does not now 
 " recollect, executed the penalty of his obligation, or words 
 "to that effect." To a remark that it must have been an 
 honorable business, as honorable men were engaged in it, 
 '* truly," he replied, " the most honorable we have in that coun- 
 " try /" And he further observed, that *' he did not know 
 " but the whole business would yet come to light, as there 
 " was one who was called on as an evidence, and who, it 
 " was feared, would disclose, the whole truth ; and that the" 
 " sheriff said, if he did he should not get home alive /" On an- 
 other occasion, in the town of Enosburgh, Vermont, in re- 
 ply to a question put to him by a brother Mason, whether 
 he believed, that Morgan was in fact murdered ? He said, 
 ♦' there was not the least doubt of it, and that he justly de- 
 « served death I He further stated, that he might have 
 " known all the particulars about it — that Mr. Bruce, sher- 
 ** iff of Niagara County, told him that Morgan was actually 
 " put to death, and would have told him the whole transac- 
 •' tion, but, said he, * I told him (Bruce) to stop ; if Morgan 
 ** was dead it was enough. I also cautioned him to say 
 *• nothing about it to any person," 
 
LETTER XLVIT. ^ 541 
 
 It will be recollected that on the night of the 14th, after 
 the installation, a party of fifteen or twenty persons, be- 
 sides those belonging to the fort, came from Lewiston, and 
 were in consultation there,— taking supper at the house of 
 Giddings. During that nighf, consultations were held at a 
 meeting of these persons on the plain near the grave-yard, 
 as to the manner in which Morgan should be disposed of. 
 All agreed that by the violation of his masonic obligations, 
 he had incurred the penalty ; they determined to execute 
 that penalt}^ and cast his body into the river. But while 
 they were proceeding to the cell for that purpose, one of the 
 number relented, and the execution was deferred. On the 
 following night another consultation, was held, having the 
 object in view. Giddings expressed .a desire that Morgan 
 should be released, at which King became offended. Gid- 
 dings thereupon gave up the key of the magazine, which 
 was entrusted to Elisha Adams. Morgan was confined in 
 the magazine until the night of September 19th, when, ac- 
 cording to the belief of Mr. Birdseye, and others who have 
 investigated the circumstances, he was put to death by be- 
 ing drowned in the depths of the Niagara. 
 
 Col. King, David Hague, and Burrage Smith, were all 
 dead, long before the investigations were brought to a close. 
 King died very suddenly, in the spring of 1829, at a pub- 
 lic house in Lewiston, the morning after hearing of the tes- 
 timcHiy given by Bruce, on the trial of John Whitney, — 
 after which trial, confident as he had been on his return 
 from Arkansas, he could have had no hope of escaping 
 conviction. These three men were doubtless engaged in 
 the final deed, together with Howard, who had escaped to 
 England. Ehsha Adams, who received the key of the 
 magazine, where Moi^an was confined, when Giddings 
 surrendered it, and left Niagara for York, died soon after 
 his trial. King is represented through the whole of the 
 transactions after Morgan's arrival on the frontier, as the 
 
542 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 most bitter and vindictive in his feelings against him, for 
 having betrayed the secrets of Masonry. He was proud 
 of his masonic honors, zealous in the cause of the institu- 
 tion, and the leader of the conspirators, after the victim 
 had been brought v^^ithin his power. It was he who awak- 
 ed Giddings in the night, when Morgan was brought to 
 the brink of the river, with the exclamation — " we have got 
 " the d d perjured rascalj" <^c. It was he who repeat- 
 edly proposed, even as early as the night of the 14th, that 
 Morgan should be put to death. It was King, and Bruce, 
 and Hague, who took Morgaa, bound and hood-winked* 
 from the coach, by the grave yard, near the fort, on the 
 night of the 13th. It was King, who endeavored to push 
 matters to extremities, by representing, as Ganson had done 
 at Batavia, that he was authorized to suppress the book by 
 a letter from Gov. Clinton ; and it was he, who, with Col. 
 Jewett, signified to Giddings, on his return from York, that 
 Morgan had been executed during his- absence, and request- 
 ed him to walk the beach, and keep a look out for the body. 
 In corroboration of this latter statement of Giddings, a 
 piece of circumstantial testimony was ehcited by Mr. J. C. 
 Spencer, before a grand jury, previously to the death of 
 King, which is directly to the point. The death of King 
 having prevented his being brought to trial, this testimony 
 never came out in court. It was this : A witness, (under- 
 stood to be Dr. Pope,) testified to the grand jury of Niagara, 
 that at some time, from two to six weeks after the abduc- 
 tion of Morgan, he heard that a body had floated upon the 
 beach, one or two miles below Fort Niagara, and that a cor- 
 oner's jury had been summoned to hold an inquest upon it. 
 Witness was at Lewiston, and saw Col. King walking to 
 and fro upon the steps of a hotel. King called. to him, and 
 said — " Doctor don't you want a subject ?" He replied in 
 the negative ; but King followed up his question by saying 
 that a body had floated upon the beach, a coroner's jury 
 
LETTER XLVn. 54S 
 
 was about to be held, — and the body would be buried — but 
 the doctor could take it to the fort, and have any room [for 
 the dissection,] that he pleased. The witness answered that 
 the body would be of no use, as it had probably been spoil- 
 ed by the water. King replied, — "the coroner has sum- 
 " moned me ; I told him I had business at Lewiston, and 
 " could not stay : I am afraid it is the body of Morgan : 
 " Should it prove to be so, we shall hear to-night. You 
 " must go to-night and take it up and hide it, and take care 
 " of it : You must put it where it can never be found." 
 King was extremely agitated, and the witness was alarmed 
 for him, as he evidently believed it was the body of Mor- 
 gan. The doctor answered, — " If you have got into any 
 " difficulty, you must work your way out of it, — I will have 
 " nothing to do with it." King thereupon turned to wit- 
 ness and said, — " You must go." Witness repeated " that 
 " he should not, — that he would have nothing to do with it." 
 Upon this refusal, the manner of King became changed, 
 and he said, as if in a jocose way, — " I guess it is Morgan 
 " — it is Morgan," — and laughed quite heartily, as if he had 
 passed a joke upon witness. But the laugh was evidently 
 affected, and the doctor thought it any thing else than a 
 joke. King knew him to be a Mason. 
 
 This disclosure, taken in connexion with a request made 
 by King to Giddings, that he should watch the shore, lest 
 the body should float up and be discovered, is of great im- 
 portance in making up a decision ; and, when added to the 
 numerous other circumstances, bearing upon the same 
 point, leads to the irresistable conclusion that the murder 
 was perpetrated, in manner and form before indicated. 
 But there is. yet other testimony. Mr. James A. Shed, the 
 witness examined on the trials of Adams, P. Whitney, and 
 associates, and whose demeanor was such, through long 
 and searching examinations, as to acquire the fullest confi- 
 dence of the co\n*t and bar for integrity and veracity, has 
 
544 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 presented the world with another and most interesting sec* 
 tion of this fearful history. The confession was made to 
 him about six months after the deed was committed, by a 
 Knight Templar. 
 
 On the 19th of September, eight Masons, having finally 
 determined to put their prisoner to death, believing, proba- 
 bly, that it would be safer to have a smaller number actu- 
 ally concerned in the execution, held a consultation as to 
 the best mode of proceeding. The object was to select 
 three of their number for executioners, and to have the 
 other five excluded, and so excluded, that neither should 
 know who else, besides himself, was thus released, or, who 
 were the executioners. For this purpose, the following in- 
 genious process was devised : — They placed eight tickets 
 in a hat, upon three of which were written certain marks, 
 and it was agreed that each one of their number should 
 simultaneously draw a ticket. They were instantly to se- 
 parate, before examining their tickets, and walk away in 
 different directions, until entirely out of sight of each other. 
 They were then to stop and examine ihe slip of paper they 
 had drawn, and the five drawing the blanks were to return 
 to their own homes, taking different routes, by which 
 means neither of them would know who had drawn the 
 fatal numbers, and of course no one of the five could be a 
 witness against the others ! The three drawing the tickets 
 designated, — a bloody hand should have been the device, — 
 were to return to the magazine at a certain hour, and com- 
 plete the hellish design. The manner of his murder, is be- 
 lieved to have been by attaching heavy weights to his bo- 
 dy, and taking him out into the middle of the stream in a 
 boat, where, at the black hour of midnight, he was plung- 
 ed into the dark and angry torrent of the Niagara ! — The 
 boat for this purpose was got in readiness by Adams, in 
 obedience to the commands of the vengeful conspirators. 
 But he, with a,ll those deeper than himseif in guiit, (e:jcept- 
 
LETTER XLVII. 545 
 
 mg the villain Howard,) failing in being brought to justice 
 in this world, has been summoned to render an account at 
 the bar of a higher tribunal. 
 
 Such was the melancholy fate of William Morgan, — a 
 free American citizen, whose death is unavenged. He was 
 stolen from the bosom of his family by an infamous perver- 
 sion of the forms of law, — he was thrust into prison for 
 the gratification of private malignity, — he was kidnapped 
 under the guise of friendship, — transported like a malefac- 
 tor one hundred and fifty miles through a populous coun- 
 try, — and executed in cold-blood by a gang of assassins, 
 under circumstances of as damning atrocity as ever stain- 
 ed the annals of human delinquency ! Nor was the crime 
 perpetrated by ignorant or hungry banditti, or for the lust 
 of power, or of gold. The circle of the conspirators, em- 
 braced, directly and indirectly, hundreds of intelligent men, 
 acting, not on the spur of the occasion, from sudden im- 
 pulse or anger, but after long consultations, and weeks, and 
 even months, of preparation. Those immediately engag- 
 ed in the conspiracy, were men of information, and of high 
 standing in their own neighborhoods and counties ; em- 
 bracing civil officers of almost every grade ; sheriff's, legis- 
 lators, magistrates; lawyers, physicians, and even those 
 whose calling it was to minister at the altar in holy things. . 
 Along the route of the captive, the members of the mason- 
 ic fraternity left their occupations, however busily or ur- 
 gently engaged, and flew at a moment's warning, to aid in 
 his transportation to the spot where his suflferings were 
 ended. A clergyman preceded him, moreover, heralding 
 his approach from town to town, and announcing his cap- 
 tivity to the assembling brethren before whom he was si- 
 multaneously to deliver a discourse, dedicating a masonic 
 temple to the service of God and the holy St. John ; and 
 enforcing the golden maxims of " peace, harmony, and 
 
 Arrived at the end of his journey, 
 69 
 
546 LETTER XLVII. 
 
 the wretched victim was imprisoned in a fortress over 
 which the banner of freedom was streaming in the breeze. 
 In vain did he plead for his life ; and in vain did he im- 
 plore the privilege of once more beholding his wife and 
 children. Nay, more, with worse than barbarian cruelty, 
 was his final request of a Bible, to sooth his last hours, and 
 point him the way to a brighter world, — brighter, far, 
 had he been prepared to enter it, than that upon which he 
 was in a few hours forever to close his eyes ! And what 
 was the mighty offence of the miserable man, that he must 
 thus be hurried to his final account, without being allowed 
 a last farewell of his wife, — ^without suffering a single ray 
 of divine light to glance across his path, or illumine the dark 
 atmosphere of his dungeon, — but sent to his dread abode 
 with all his imperfections on his head! — Why, forsooth, he 
 was about to expose the wonderful secrets of Freemason- 
 ry ! — It was feared he would tell how " poor blind candi- 
 " dates" are led about a lodge room by a ** cable tow," and 
 how they kneel at the altar, at one time on one knee, and 
 at another time upon the other ! It was feared he would 
 tell how they stumble over the emblems of " the rugged 
 path of human life," or bend with humility beneath " the 
 living arch I" 
 
 " If it were so, it was a grievous fault ; 
 And greviously hath Morgan answered it." 
 
 It is but too true that his virtues did not plead like an- 
 gels in his behalf. But Humanity weeps over the deed, 
 while Justice was " trumpet-tongued, against the deep 
 damnation of his taking off!' 
 
 Very truly and respectfully yours, &g. 
 
LETTER XLYIII. 547 
 
 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 New- York, April 1, 1832. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The next and only remaining inquiry, is, to what ex- 
 tent were the members of the masonic body, collectively, 
 or the lodges and chapters, as such, concerned in the con- 
 spiracy, which ended in the murder of William Morgan ? 
 That several lodges and chapters, and a large number of 
 Masons in the western part of this state, were parties to 
 the conspiracy before the fact, — that a very considerable 
 number of the fraternity were actually engaged in it, — - 
 and that many more subsequently became cognizant of it, — 
 are facts which have been conclusively shown in the pro- 
 gress of the preceding narrative. But it is unfair and unjust 
 that the innocent should suffer in reputation with the guilty ; 
 and it has been an important part of my design to preserve 
 the line of separation distinctly in the preceding pages. But 
 notwithstanding all my anxiety, and all my eftbrts to re- 
 duce the circle of the guilty, with their aiders and abettors, 
 to the smallest possible circumference, it is yet much broad- 
 er than I could have wished, or than I hoped to have found 
 it, on a careful re-investigation of the whole matter. 
 
 It has been the impression of Anti-masons generally, — 
 and with many the impression has ripened into conviction, 
 — that the project of the abduction of Morgan was planned 
 and matured in the lodges, and that his murder was resolv- 
 ed upon from the outset. The idea has likewise prevailed, 
 erroneously, as I flatter myself has already been shown, 
 that, from the very nature and constitution of the society. 
 
548 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 whatever is devised in one lodge or chapter, must be known 
 to all, and whatever is known to one Mason, touching the 
 interests and affairs of the craft, must be alike familiar to 
 all. Such, however, is not the fact. The particular local 
 measures of a lodge in Batavia, or a chapter in Rochester, 
 are no more likely to be known in the lodges of Boston, 
 New-York, or New Orleans, than are the purely local 
 transactions of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard, to 
 the members of Yale College, or of Brown University. In 
 regard, moreover, to far the larger proportion of men who 
 are called Masons, — who, although they have long since 
 taken the degrees, have also long since ceased turning their 
 attention to the subject, and are consequently Masons only 
 in name, — they are no more likely to become acquainted 
 with masonic secrets, or masonic transactions, than those 
 who have never entered the vestibule of a masonic edifice. 
 For a long time after the outrage, it was my sincere belief, 
 that the crime was the work of a very small number of ig- 
 norant masonic zealots, without the knowledge or coun- 
 tenance of persons of character or intelligence ; and it was 
 much longer still, before I could bring myself to believe, 
 that any masonic body whatever, had in any wise been ac- 
 cessary to the atrocious transaction. But these opinions 
 were successively forced to yield before accumulating proofs 
 that could not be withstood. 
 
 That the conspiracy was extensive, is evidenced by the 
 whole history of the investigations. From the moment it 
 became known that Morgan's work was in preparation, it 
 excited great commotion among the Masons at Batavia, 
 and its immediate neighborhood. Consultations were held, 
 and various expedients suggested for preventing the publi- 
 cation, and for suppressing it, after it had been commenced. 
 The most flagrant of those means have been disclosed in 
 the progress of the present work. Morgan was alternately 
 flattered and threatened ; but to no purpose. His expecta- 
 
LETTER XLVIIf. 549 
 
 tions of immense profits were excited, and he already fan- 
 cied that he was half enabled to purchase an El Dorado for 
 himself. He was therefore not to be persuaded, or purchas- 
 ed, to abandon his design. Consultations were then held upon 
 a larger scale, and the attention of the several masonic bo- 
 dies at Buffalo, Rochester, Lockport, Canandaigua, and 
 elsewhere, was called to the subject. We have seen by the 
 testimony produced by the state, on the last of the Lock- 
 port trials, that the Chapter of Bethany, at the head of 
 which was the Rev. Lucius Smith, had sent forth a visiting 
 committee to various masonic bodies, upon this subject. A 
 very particular account of the consultations of the lodge in 
 Buffalo, was furnished to the Lewiston Convention by 
 Thomas G. Green, who made oath to the facts. From his 
 deposition it appears that he attended a meeting of the lodge 
 sometime between the 20th of August, and the 7th of Sep- 
 tember, 1829, at the invitation of Howard, alias Chipper- 
 field. This deponent presided on that occasion. The busi- 
 ness before them was the threatened publication of Morgan, 
 and the most suitable means that could be adopted to sup- 
 press it. Howard proposed himself and another member, 
 as a committeee to attend to the subject. The motion was 
 agreed to, with an understanding that no measures of vio- 
 lence were to be taken. A short time afterwards, Howard 
 requested Green to go with him to the lodge-room that eve- 
 ning, where, he said, a few were to meet. In the evening, 
 the deponent started to go thither, and on the way, fell in 
 with Howard, but did not go to the lodge-room. They 
 walked together back of the village, where Howard and the 
 deponent had the following conversation : — Howard asked 
 Green if he w^as willing to aid him in suppressing the book. 
 He replied that he was willing to assist as far as was rea- 
 sonable and proper, or according to what was proposed at 
 the former meeting of the lodge. Howard requested a de- 
 cisive answer one way or the other — he wanted to know 
 
550 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 whether he, the deponent, was for the Masons, or against 
 them. The deponent said he was for them, and was will- 
 ing to aid in suppressing the book if it was to promote the 
 interests of the masonic institution, and asked what plan 
 tliey intended to pursue. Howard said they intended to 
 go to Batavia and get the manuscript papers of the book; 
 they were to get them peaceably if they could, if not, by 
 force ; and if they could not obtain them without, they 
 would take Morgan and Miller and carry them off too. 
 This deponent finally consented to join the party, and go to 
 Batavia, for the purpose of obtaining the papers in the 
 manner proposed. The deposition proceeds to give an ac- 
 count of the fruitless expedition to " Batavia, on the night of 
 the 8th of September, of which a full narrative has been 
 heretofore given. It is in evidence that the chapter of Ro- 
 chester was consulted; and no doubt exists of the fact that 
 the profligate Johns was brought from Canada, and paid by 
 the Encampment of Knights Templars at Rochester. We 
 have the evidence, under oath, that a special lodge was 
 convened at Le Roy, at 10 o'clock, A. M. of the day oii 
 which Morgan was seized and carried away from Batavia : 
 and a cloud of witnesses have testified to the measures 
 concerted with reference to this outrage, in the chapter of 
 Lockport. Elder Bernard informs us, that five weeks be- 
 fore the outrage, the proposed work of Morgan was the 
 theme of conversation among his brother Masons in the 
 town of Covington, where he then resided, and that a Bap- 
 tist clergyman, — a Royal Arch Mason of high standing, 
 declared to him, that Morgan must be put out of the way, 
 — adding, that with so much complacency did God regard 
 the institution of Freemasonry, that he would be one who 
 would help to do it ! Indeed it may with safety be said, 
 ihat the zealous and acting Masons, generally, west of 
 "Canandaigua, were more or less cognizant of the measures 
 taking against Morgan, and many of them actually con- 
 
LETTER XLVIlf. 551 
 
 cerned. At Lockport, in December, three months after 
 the outrage, Bruce was elected Scribe of the chapter, upon 
 the express ground that he was entitled to the office, from 
 his exertions in the case of Morgan. Colonel King was 
 elected and installed High Priest of the chapter at Lewis- 
 ton, at the moment when he held Morgan a prisoner in a 
 solitary cell, seven miles distant, and had murder in his 
 heart ; while a large assembly of Masons at the solemn 
 festival, were unquestionably assenting to the abduction. 
 
 But notwithstanding all their antecedent preparations, 
 they scarcely knew their own ultimate purposes. The first 
 determination was to suppress the book ; and all peaceable 
 means having failed in the accomplishment of that object, 
 arrangements were made for assembling a large body of 
 Masons from different and distant places, at Batavia, on 
 the night of the 8th of September, to act forcibly, if neces- 
 sary. A party of fifteen or twenty persons from Buffalo, 
 assembled at a tavern four miles west of Batavia, on the 
 afternoon of that day, and proceeded towards the village 
 in the evening. At the same time a party arrived in the 
 suburbs of Batavia, from Lockport. There were people 
 at Stafford from Canandaigua, and a large number were 
 marched from thence in the evening,^under Colonel Saw- 
 yer. Mr. Green testified that a large party were expected 
 from Canada. The forcible removal of Morgan was at 
 that time contemplated ; but the project then, was to have 
 taken him directly from Batavia to Lockport, and thence to 
 Niagara. Various circumstances conspired to defeat the 
 execution of the design, at that time. Green supposes that 
 a piece of inadvertency on his own part, was the means of 
 the frustration of the scheme. The taking of Morgan ta 
 Canandaigua, was a separate plot, not originally contem- 
 plated, and of sudden device. E' en the conspirators at 
 Batavia, were not aware of it, until the moment arrived for 
 its execution. " Indeed," to quote the opinion of Mr. Spenceiv 
 
552 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 ** no very definite purpose appears to have been originally 
 ** formed. . The immediate exigency seems to have been 
 " his removal at all events, and his final disposition proba- 
 " bly did not enter into the calculation of those who v^ere 
 " concerned in carrying him to Lewiston." 
 
 From the foregoing view of facts, which, necessarily, are 
 in part but a recapitulation, it is rendered positively cer- 
 tain, that, so far from the abduction having been the device 
 of a few mad-men, in a moment of passion, it w^as a work 
 of deliberation, and of extensive correspondence and con- 
 cert among the acting Masons, individually and collec- 
 tively, over a wide space of country. This conclusion is 
 inevitable, — the facts supporting it irresistible. The next 
 inquiry is, — to what extent, if any, were the Masons, either 
 indirectly or collectively, at a distance from the scene of 
 action, concerned in this nefarious transaction ? So far as 
 it regards a previous knowledge of the conspiracy, it is a 
 question of difficult solution. There is but little proof 
 either way. The assertions of Ganson and King, of hav- 
 ing had a previous correspondence with Governor Clinton, 
 have already been refuted. They were never entitled to 
 a moment's consideration. Among the depositions collect- 
 ed by the Lewiston convention, was one of a Mr. Wilder, 
 of Genesee county, who swears to conversations with a 
 Mason by the name of Grant, before and after the abduc- 
 tion. In the former, while conversing upon the subject of 
 Morgan's design to reveal the secrets of Masonry, Grant 
 stated, that " they had sent to the Grand Lodge for in- 
 *' structions, and when they should get word from that 
 " body, something would be done." In the subsequent con- 
 versation with the same man, and others, he was given to 
 understand that Morgan was dead. It is possible that 
 some of these infatuated men may have thus previously 
 written. to officers of the Grand Lodge, but hardly probable. 
 To the Grand Lodge they could not have written, as it was 
 
LETTER XLVIII. 553 
 
 not in session. General Stephen Van Rennsselaer was 
 Grand Master at that time, and Elisha W. King Deputy 
 Grand Master ; and in the names of those pure, high-mind- 
 ed and honorable men, the public has an ample guarantee 
 that they were never even improperly approached. 
 
 From the statement of Giddings, it appears that Colonel 
 King did have a correspondence upon the subject with Mr. 
 Gibbons, a distinguished Mason of Boston. But the letter 
 exhibited by King from that gentleman, was written after 
 the abduction, and was one of inquiry into the particulars 
 of the outrage. But this correspondence was a natural, and 
 doubtless an innocent one, since King was a near relative of 
 the writer, who had been a delegate to the General Grand 
 Chapter, to which the stolen manuscripts had so recently 
 been presented, and by which they had been so promptly 
 sent back. This circumstance, therefore, amounts to no- 
 thing. But there was another correspondence, which did 
 take place, and which disserves attention in this connexion. 
 It has been established beyond the possibility of dispute, by 
 disclosures made under oath early in the last year, that a 
 correspondence was opened between some of the Masons 
 in Batavia and its neighborhood, and the Masons of the 
 northern part. of Vermont, in regard to Morgan's anticipat- 
 ed treachery to the institution. Letters were received 
 by members of Mississque lodge, in Enosburgh, from the 
 master of a lodge in Genesee, stating that a man by the 
 name of Morgan was about to reveal the secrets of the or- 
 der, and soliciting advice in the premises. Replies were 
 sent, advising to a course of moderation. Two letters upon 
 this subject, were written to Vermont, previously to the 
 outrage, by Dr. S. Butler, with whose name you must by 
 this time have become familiar. This correspondence, 
 however, proves nothing criminal, or even censurable, in 
 regard to the conduot of the Masons to whom it was ad- 
 dressed. On the contrary, they gave proper advice in re- 
 
 70 
 
554 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 ply. But it shows that there were some Masons far dis- 
 tant from the theatre of the excitement, who must have 
 been prepared for the event that did happen. A Mason of 
 high respectabiHty, of Saratoga, has moreover informed 
 me, that, soon after the abduction, he was told by a digni- 
 tary of a chapter in that county, that " the western bre- 
 " thren had approached the east in search of light* previ- 
 " ously to the outrage, — that Morgan would be conveyed 
 " to Canada, and thence across the Atlantic, — and that him- 
 " self and family would be amply provided for." 
 
 No further evidence exists, of which I am aware, going 
 to establish the fact, or to countenance the belief, that, pre- 
 viously to the abduction, there was any general knowledge 
 or privity of the contemplated outrage, on the part of lodges, 
 chapters, or encampments, eastward of the county of Onta- 
 rio. Would that no higher impeachment could be brought 
 against lodges, and chapters, and grand lodges, and grand 
 chapters, for their conduct in this matter, after the conspi- 
 rators had matured and consummated their wicked pur- 
 porses. But facts of an opposite character rise up in fear- 
 ful array to the contrary. To particularize the transac- 
 tions to which I now refer, in proof of this assertion, would 
 be only to repeat a variety of details to which I have al- 
 ready had the honor to direct your attention in the progress 
 of these investigations. Still, a brief recapitulation seems 
 to be indispensable to the summing up of the case. I do 
 not wish to be understood, in what I am now going to say, 
 as inculpating, or intending to inculpate, the great body of 
 the lodges and chapters of this state, directly, as accessa- 
 ries to the abduction after the fact. But I do say, that while 
 great numbers of Masons individually, and some chapters 
 collectively, have laid themselves open to grievous censure 
 in this respect, the characters of all the lodges and chap- 
 
 + Masonic language, now, I believe, well understood. 
 
LETTER XLVIII. 555 
 
 ters of the state have been compromised by the grand bo- 
 dies in which all are supposed to be represented. In the 
 month of February, 1827, five months after the perpetration 
 of the crime, the Grand Chapter rejected a proposition of- 
 fering a rew^ard of 1000 dollars, for the discovery and ap- 
 prehension of the authors of it : while, on the other hand, 
 they appropriated the like sum of 1000 dollars, under the 
 pretext of unspecified charity, but in fact to be used for the 
 aid, comfort, and assistance of the criminals. In the month 
 of March, of the same year, Howard, one of the murderers,by 
 his own confession, was cherished by certain of the Masons 
 in this city : he was kept in concealment from the officers 
 of justice : funds were raised for him : and he was finally 
 smuggled across Long Island, and put on board of one of 
 the foreign packets, oft' Gravesend or Coney Island. In the 
 month of June, of the same year, the sum of 100 dollars was 
 voted from the funds of the Grand Lodge, to Eli Bruce ; 
 and the additional sum for which he had applied, was raised 
 for him by the brethren out of the lodge. In the autumn of the 
 same year, the sum of 100 dollars was appropriated from 
 the funds of Jerusalem Chapter of this city, for the benefit 
 of " the western sufferers," as the conspirators were called.* 
 Money for the same object, was raised by one of the en- 
 campments in this city ; but to what amount, I have not 
 been informed. I have likewise abundant reason to be- 
 lieve, that other lodges and chapters of this city, contribut- 
 ed to the same object ; — and the sum of 500 dollars was 
 subsequently applied to the same benevolent purposes, by 
 the Grand Lodge. These facts are known: most of them 
 have already been proclaimed, as it were upon the house- 
 tops : and how many additional appropriations of the same 
 description, were made by other masonic bodies, at other 
 
 * The amount appropriated by this chapter at the time in question, has 
 been stated at 500 dollars, by Mr. J. F. Hanks, who first published the fact; 
 but I have been positively assured by a gentleman who was then a high of- 
 ficer of that chapter, that the appropriation was no more than 100 dollars. 
 
556 LETTER XLVIII. 
 
 times and places, for the same object, remains yet among 
 the undiscovered secrets of the order. But granting tliat 
 all the misdeeds of this description have been enumerated, 
 — that not a single dollar more was appropriated by either 
 lodge or chapter, or individual Mason, for the purpose of 
 retaining counsel for the accused ; of supporting the con- 
 victs in prison; of aiding in the escape of some ; of pay- 
 ing the expenses of others ; and of assisting in the spiriting 
 away of witnesses, — is the catalogue not enough ? Is fur- 
 ther evidence necessary to convince a virtuous community, 
 that the institution ought to be abolished? Do those Ma- 
 sons, who yet adhere to the institution, but who, neverthe- 
 less, would shrink from the commission of the most' venial 
 crime, — who would " feel a stain like a wound," — and who 
 have been kept in ignorance of these astounding facts, re- 
 quire more light to enable them to perceive that the insti- 
 tution is no longer entitled to the countenance or support 
 of good men and just ? 
 
 It has been said, however, in extenuation of most of these 
 appropriations of money by the lodges and chapters, that, 
 when they wxre made, those who voted for them, did jso un- 
 der a belief that great oppression was experienced by the 
 accused at the w^est, — that, in fact, (when the appropria- 
 tions were made,) it was not believed that any very consid- 
 erable crime had been committed ; — and, in short, it has 
 been maintained, that those voting the money, honestly be- 
 lieved the accused, to whom it was going, to be innocent 
 and persecuted men. Such, I am ^villing to admit, to a 
 certain extent, was the fact ; — suc^h, I have the best reason 
 for believing, was, in a very limited degree, the true state of 
 the case. But in all instances^ the master-spirits knew well 
 enough the true state of the case ; and, both in the Grand 
 Lodge and Grand Chapter, at the times of making the ap- 
 propriations, numbers of the conspirators were themselves 
 present, — wearing the lamb-skin emblems of innocence, and 
 
LETTER XLVTir. 557 
 
 taking part in the proceedings ! Making, however, all 
 possible allowance for the erroneous views under which the 
 plea I am now considering supposes them to have act- 
 ed ; — making, also, an additional allowance for the sympa- 
 thies that had been awakened in behalf of their western 
 brethren, and for the indignation that had been kindled by 
 what was justly deemed an undistinguishing, intolerant, 
 and indefensible proscription of the whole masonic body, for 
 the offences of a part, — it yet falls immeasurably short of a 
 justification for the helping away of Howard, and the ad- 
 vancing of money to enable Burrage Smith to fly to New- 
 Orleans, and Howard to England. Nor can even this excuse 
 avail to any extent, for more than a very short period. 
 Grant, if you please, — which by the way could not have 
 been the fact, — but grant, for the sake of the argument, that 
 a majority of the members of the Grand Lodge and Grand 
 Chapter, at the time of making those appropriations, did 
 suppose the accused were innocent, they must have soon 
 been undeceived. Upon what principle, then, are we to 
 account for their subsequent conduct ? Trials of the con- 
 spirators were occurring every few months, and volumes of 
 appalling testimony were following each other, in rapid suc- 
 cession, placing the innocence of the accused, and of numer- 
 ous unknown accomplices, entirely out of the question, — hut 
 710 example was made of any of these. In the earlier part of 
 the excitement, several members of the order w^ere tried 
 for the conspiracy, and convicted by their own confessions, 
 — hut none of these, even to this day, have been expel- 
 led from cither lodge or chapter. Several more have been 
 convicted, after warmly contested trials, who, with the 
 former, have served out their respective terms of imprison- 
 ment, — hut none of these have been expelled. Witnesses 
 have stood mute, braving the authority of the civil law, 
 even in the presence of the highest of our criminal tribu- 
 nals, — hut none of these have been expelled. Other witness- 
 
558 LETTER XLViri. 
 
 es have refused to testify, expressly upon the ground that in 
 doing so, they must criminate themselves, — neither have these 
 been expelled. Witnesses have testified falsely, as their 
 subsequent examinations have fully proved, — neither have 
 these been expelled. It has been proved in court, over and 
 over again, that the measures for the abduction of Morgan, 
 were concerted in the lodges and chapters of the west, — 
 hut the warrants frr such lodges and chapters have never 
 been recalled. Indeed, there has never yet been utter- 
 ed, FROM the walls OF EITHER LODGE OR CHAPTER, FROM 
 THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST, AN EXPRESSION OF REAL CEN- 
 SURE, OR OF HONEST INDIGNATION, AGAINST ANY INDIVIDUAL, 
 HOWEVER CLEARLY IT MAY HAVE BEEN KNOWN THAT HE WAS 
 ENGAGED IN DEPRIVING A FREE CITIZEN OF HIS LIBERTY, AND 
 PUTTING HIM TO DEATH IN COLD BLOOD ! 
 
 There is, however, one word to be said, before I close 
 the present letter, in mitigation of the offences of those who 
 were first engaged in depriving Morgan of his liberty. 
 There is no reason whatever for believing that his murder 
 was contemplated when he was first arrested, or by any of 
 those engaged in transferring him from the jail in Canandai- 
 gua, to Niagara. I have already said, that the carrying of 
 Morgan to Canandaigua, was not connected with the origin- 
 al plan. That movement was projected and executed by 
 Cheseboro, merely for the purpose of disgracing him by the 
 imputation of petit larceny. When acquitted upon that 
 charge, feeling that it would not answer to allow Morgan 
 to return to his labors with the ability to excite the public 
 sympathy by the tale of his wrongs, Cheseboro procured his 
 imprisonment on the civil process, merely to give time for 
 ihem to mature some new scheme to suppress the proposed 
 disclosure of the momentous secrets of Masonry. The ar- 
 rangements for his transportation to Canada, were hastily 
 made, although it had been so long determined that some- 
 thing should be done to suppress the book ; and the murder 
 
LETTER XLIX. 559 
 
 of the man was rather the result of the imperfection of those 
 arrangements, than of previous design. In this belief I am 
 strengthened by the opinions of all the gentlemen, as I be- 
 lieve, who have acted as special counsel in the prosecutions, 
 and also of Mr. Whiting, their able and constant auxiUary. 
 Those who took him to the fort, calculated on nothing more 
 than his temporary confinement, until he could be sent away 
 into Canada, or to sea, via Quebec. But when the Cana- 
 dians utterly refused to receive him, and the conspirators 
 found him thrown back upon their hands, they were unex- 
 pectedly embarrassed. They had violated the law ; — they 
 feared to set their prisoner at large, to blazon the outrage 
 they had thus far committed ; — they could not advance, and 
 dared not recede. In this posture of affairs, they sent back 
 an express to Rochester, for advice. One of the conspira- 
 tors in that place proceeded instantly to the frontier, and 
 in an evil hour, excited by passion, — pushed on by fear, — 
 and laboring under a strong delusion, — they were led to shed 
 the blood of their victim. That blood yet cries from the 
 ground for vengeance ! 
 
 I am, sir, with respect, &c. 
 
 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 New- York, April 2, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 
 It is a subject of no ordinary satisfaction to me, and 
 will doubtless afford still greater relief to yourself, to find 
 that these somewhat desultory communications have at length 
 been brought to a point at which it can be said, in the words 
 of the wise preacfier of old, " let us hear the conclusion of 
 " the whole matter." At the close of the rapid survey of 
 speculative Freemasonry with which the preceding essays 
 
560 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 were commenced, a variety of reasons were oHered, why, 
 in my humble opinion, the institution ought to be totally 
 abandoned, on its own merits, independently of any charges 
 of malconduct that might, have been preferred against it. 
 The more I have reflected upon this matter, the more strong- 
 ly have I become persuaded, that the reasons there set forth 
 are sound and just. Every hour of thought that I have 
 been enabled to devote to this subject, has but rendered the 
 conviction stronger, that Masonry is wholly inconsistent 
 with sound reason, and with the state of society at the pre- 
 sent day. Let it be granted, if its votaries please, that its 
 objects were originally laudable and humane, and arc so 
 still, in the estimation of the better portion, and even of the 
 great majority of its members ; yet, I would ask, why fortify 
 the performance of duties so eminently incumbent upon us all 
 as men and christians, by oaths and penalties, which, howe- 
 ver explained, must yet always sound barbarous and shock- 
 ing when repeated. The duties of the Gospel are not im- 
 posed by any such sanctions ; and I do believe this feature 
 of the society infinitely behind the age in which we live, 
 even if it be not more barbarous than would ever have been 
 openly tolerated in any age or community. But, throwing 
 these considerations entirely aside, I am constrained to say, 
 that, in full view of the facts which have been disclosed in 
 the preceding irregular narrative, the institution of Fi'ce- 
 masonry ought to be entirely abolished for its demerits, — 
 and that for the following reasons : — 
 
 I. On account of its laws and its obligations. Liberal 
 minded and good men seldom do wrong, whether they are 
 Masons or not. Masons of this character look to the spirit 
 of the obligations, and practice the virtues inculcated by its 
 lessons and its emblems. But we have seen in the course 
 of these disclosures, that a great number of Masons, — ■ 
 perhaps a majority of the adhering members, — not only 
 believe the obligations to be binding, but are even ready 
 
LETTER XLIX. 561 
 
 to act upon them to the letten They think every thing 
 about it means what it says ; and have shown that they are 
 ready to act accordingly. 
 
 II. Many of its members believe the institution to be of 
 divine origin. They make it a substitute for religion : they 
 have been so taught, and are honest in the opinion : and 
 when the case occurs, they act upon this belief. Such men, 
 though not by its spirit, are yet justified by the letter of the 
 laws. The institution therefore leads to fatal error, in re- 
 gard to matters of infinite moment to the immortal interests 
 of man. 
 
 III. The garments of Masonry are stained with blood. 
 An American citizen has been sacrificed upon its altar, for 
 no breach of the civil laws of the land, but only for the vio- 
 lationof his masonic obligations. What has once happen- 
 ed, may happen again : and the only safe and secure disposi- 
 tion of the subject is to abandon it, and blot it out for- 
 ever. 
 
 IV. The power of Masonry has proved too strong for 
 the arm of the civil law. The cry which earth sends up to 
 heaven, when her bosom is stained with the blood of a mur- 
 dered son, seldom fails to ensure just retribution from the 
 hands of her children : but in this instance it has fail- 
 ed. " Although," — says Chancellor Walworth, when 
 speaking upon this subject — " it is the duty of Masons, as 
 " well as of Christians, to throw the broad mantle of charity 
 " over the imperfections and frailties of their brethren, yet 
 *' neither should ever permit themselves to extend its ample 
 " folds for the purpose of screening those who have disgraced 
 " themselves, and disturbed the peace of society by their 
 " crimes." Ought, then, an institution, which has exercised 
 such a power, to exist in a free country ? 
 
 V. The crime that has been committed in the name of 
 the institution, was not perpetrated, as it has been contend- 
 ed, by ignorant fanatics ; but the conspiracy embraced much 
 
 71 
 
562 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 of the intelligence and respectability of that enlightened 
 portion of the country, and the murderers themselves were 
 men of no mean consideration. 
 
 VI. The institution cannot vindicate itself from the stig- 
 ma of this outrage. On the contrary, by the course they 
 have taken since it was perpetrated, both the Grand Lodge 
 and Grand Chapter, have in fact assumed the responsibili- 
 ty of the transaction. For aught that those governing bo- 
 dies have done, the convicts in that outrage, are as good 
 Masons — standing recti in curia — as any of us. Ought 
 men of principle and virtue to sustain such an institution, 
 or remain connected with it ? 
 
 VII. The conduct of Masons on the trials at the west, 
 is a sufficient cause for the abandonment. " Grand Jurors 
 " were false to their oaths, to truly present. Witnesses 
 " upon trial were false to their oaths, to truly testify. Petit 
 " Jurors were false to their oaths, to truly try. Witnesses 
 " in some instances spurned the authority of the court, and 
 " refused to testify, and in other instances even to be sworn. 
 " Sheriffs corruptly returned partial grand jurors." 
 
 VIII. The constructions that have been put upon the ob- 
 ligations, by Masons under oath, in , courts of justice, have 
 disqualified them from being impartial jurors, in cases where 
 a brother Mason is a party. Decisions to this effect have 
 been made in our own courts, of various grades, and in the 
 courts of other states, where the question has been raised, 
 and such is undoubtedly the law of thq land. The taking of the 
 obligations, as those to whom I refer have construed them, 
 is very justly a cause of exclusion from a jury in such cases. 
 And is it either wise or proper, to adhere to, and preserve, 
 an institution which operates such a disfranchisement ? 
 
 IX. The public sentiment is against the continuance of 
 the institution. Although I am not a believer in the infalli- 
 bility of the maxim " vox popidi vox Del" yet it is no mark 
 of wisdom obstinately to persist in opposition to the declar- 
 
LETTER XLIX. 563 
 
 ed sentiments of the people, of all classes, and of all politi- 
 cal parties. The institution has lost all of veneration that 
 it ever possessed in the public mind; and now that the 
 grand arcana of the lodge room have been fully disclosed 
 to the rude gaze of the public, who among the order would 
 desire ever again to march forth in public with their robes, 
 and their lamb-skins, and their working tools, to encounter 
 the broad grins of the populace ? 
 
 X. Masons of pure hearts and sound principles, owe the 
 relinquishment of the order to those of their fellow citizens 
 who have stood by them, — refusing to denounce the whole 
 body as fanatics and bigots, ready to commit crimes, if they 
 have not already done it, for the sake of Masonry, — during 
 the bitter warfare of the Anti-masons. There are many 
 such, having no connexion with Masonry, but who, in re- 
 fusing to confound the innocent with the guilty, have incur- 
 red all the odium that has been heaped upon the Masons 
 themselves. As no possible good can evermore come of 
 the order, its members owe it to this portion of the public 
 to abandon it. 
 
 XL The institution is on the wane ; in most places it is 
 dead ; and its torpid body can never be reanimated. As 
 well might they think of establishing Mahometanism in this 
 enlightened land, as to cherish the idea of re-establishing 
 Freemasonry. There is no use in contending, at this late 
 hour, that the principles on which it was built, are moral, 
 benevolent and virtuous ; — public opinion is against it,— and 
 it is the height of folly to court disfranchisement and pro- 
 scription, when no possible benefit can arise from the sac- 
 rifice. 
 
 XIL If there are any who would still regard as a 
 sacrifice the abandonment of the order, I reply, that even 
 if it be a sacrifice, it is necessary for the public good. It 
 is only by the relinquishment of the institution, that peace 
 and social order can be restored in the regions of the Anti- 
 
564 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 masonic excitement, and the public feeling brought again 
 to healthy action. Adhering to Masonry from mere obsti- 
 nacy against its opposite, will only keep alive, and spread 
 wider, the rancour and heart-burning existing over a large 
 space of our country. 
 
 XII. We owe the relinquishment of the order to the feel- 
 ings of the religious community. However much we may 
 deprecate the course that has been adopted upon this sub- 
 ject by most of the religious sects which are happily so nu- 
 merous in our country, yet we cannot doubt the purity of 
 their motives, and the sincerity of their opposition. They 
 know that a foul murder has been committed by a band of 
 Masons, in the name of the order. They have watch- 
 ed the progress of the trials, and marked the con- 
 duct of the accused, as well as of many others whose la- 
 bors were directed — not in aid of the laws — but to shield 
 their friends from justice. Members of the order know, that 
 but a comparatively small number, were engaged in the 
 wicked transaction. But from the mysterious connexion 
 by which all the fraternity, individually and collectively, 
 have been supposed to be bound together, those who are not 
 members, know not how to discriminate, or where to draw 
 the line of distinction. Hence the greater number arc suf- 
 fering for the delinquency of the less. Ought not respect, 
 therefore, to be paid to the feelings, — call them the preju- 
 dices, if you please, — of nearly the whole religious public 
 in the United States, by which means alone, the harmony 
 of the christian church, as well as of the political world, 
 can be restored. 
 
 These are conclusions to which I have arrived, after 
 much reflection, and a long and laborious investigation of 
 the whole matter; and I might add to the catalogue of rea- 
 sons, which, in my poor judgment, ought to induce a vol- 
 untary, simultaneous, and universal abandonment of specu- 
 lative Freemasonry in the United States. I am well aware 
 
LETTER XLIX. 565 
 
 that many of my masonic brethren, will not at first coin- 
 cide with me in these opinions. Such have not always 
 been my own views, as the public well know. But I have 
 formed these opinions from facts of a startling nature, 
 as all who have done me the honor to accompany me 
 through these pages will have seen. 1 have likewise wit- 
 nessed how others have been affected by the influence of 
 this institution; and I have often been astonished to per- 
 ceive with what tenacity men of pure lives, and good con- 
 sciences, cling to it. The minds of many excellent men 
 seem actually crazed upon this subject. The whole con- 
 sistency of their lives is reversed when you come upop 
 the subject of Freemasonry. They appear to believe in it 
 as a matter of religion and faith, and whoever questions its 
 purity, and its excellence, is heretical, But I hope a more 
 liberal feenng is now beginning to prevail, and that 
 even many thousands who have hitherto refused to listen 
 to the voice of reason upon the subject, will now at least be 
 persuaded to take it up calmly, and reflect upon it. " I am 
 " satisfied," says Chancellor Walworth in a letter now be- 
 fore me, from which I have already quoted a few lines 
 above, " that the evils of keeping up the institution hereaf- 
 " ter, win more than counterbalance any good, which in 
 " this country i^an possibly be effected by it. And this 
 "has determined me, for the purpose of quieting the 
 " alarms of the community, and preserving the peace of 
 " neighborhoods, as well as to prevent divisions in the 
 " church of our Divine Master, to recommend that Ma- 
 "sons should submit to the reasonable demands of the 
 " public, to cease their meetings, and that the lodges sur- 
 " render up their charters." Yet Chancellor Walworth 
 is a Mason, and strongly opposed to political Anti-ma- 
 sonry. Such, however, are his honest opinions, and such 
 are the opinions of a vast majority of the most virtu- 
 ous, most intelligent, and most distinguished men of our 
 
566 LETTER XLIX. 
 
 countiy, without regard to sect, or profession, or party. I 
 need not add, that such are my own opinions — as honestly 
 entertained, as they have been frankly and fearlessly ex- 
 pressed. 
 
 I have the honor, sir, to remain, &c. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 ' 5' 
 
 (A.) 
 
 [ 1 1 was the author's intention to have inserted in this place the seven obligationsj as contain* 
 ed in Bernard ; but this work has been necessarily extended so much further than was origi- 
 nally contemplated, thathe must confine himself to the obligations of the third and seventh de- 
 grees, those beingtlie most essential, and indeed embracing all that is important of the others.] 
 OBLIGATION OF A MASTER MASON. 
 
 ' I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in presence of Almighty God, and this Wor- 
 shipful Lodge of Master Masons, erected to God, and dedicated to the holy order of St. John, 
 do hsreby and hereon, most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, m addition to my 
 former obligations, that 1 will not give the degree of a Master Mason to any one of an infe- 
 rior degree, nor to any other being in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful bro- 
 ther, or brethren. Master Mason, or within the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge 
 of such; and not unto him, nor unto them, whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and 
 them only whom I shall find so to be after strict trial and due examination, or lawful infor- 
 mation received. Furthermore, do 1 promise and swear, ihat I will not give the Master's 
 word, which I shall hereafter receive, neither in the lodge, nor out of it, except it be on the 
 five points of fellowship, and then not above my breath. Furthermore, do I promise and 
 swear, that I will not give the grand hailing sign of distress, except I am in real distiess, or 
 for the benefit of the craft when at work ; and should I ever see that sign given, or the word 
 accompany mg it, and the person who gave it appearing to be in distress, I will fly to his re- 
 lief at the risk of my life, should there be a greater probability of saving his life than of 
 losing my own. Furthermore do I promise and swear, that 1 will not wrong this lodge, nor 
 a brother of this degree, to the value of one cent, knowingly, myself, nor suffer it to be done 
 by others, if in my power to prevent it. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will 
 not be at the initiating, passing, and raising a candidate at one communication, without a 
 regular dispensation from the Grand Lodge tor the same. Furiherinore. do I promise and 
 swear that I will not be at the initiating, passing, or raising a candidate in a clandestine 
 lodge, I knowing it to be such. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not be at 
 the initiating of an old man in dotage, a young man in nonage, an atheist, irreligious liber- 
 tine, idiot, mailman, hermaphrodite, nor woman. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, 
 that I will not spt^ak evil of a brother Master Mason, neither behind his back, nor before his 
 face, but will appiiz'i him of all approaching danger, if in my power. Furthermore, do I 
 promise and swear that I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's wife, mother, 
 sister, or d:uigh«er, I knowing them to be such, nor suffer it to be done by others, if in my 
 power to prevent it. Furtherniirn, do I promise and swear, that I will support the constitu- 
 tion of the Grand Lodge of the state of , under which this lodge is held, and conform 
 
 to all the liy-lawsj-rules, and regulations of this er any other lodge of which I may at any 
 time hereafter bechme a member. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will obey 
 all regular signs, summons, or tokens, given, handed, sent, or thrown to me, from the hand 
 of a brother Master Mason, or from the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of 
 such, provided it be within the length of my cable tow. Furthermore, do Ipromise and 
 swear, that a Master J\fason''s secrets, given to me in charge as such, and I knowing them 
 to be siicli, shall remain us secure and inviolable in my breast as in his own, when commU' 
 nicated to mc, murder and treason excepted; and they left to my own election. Further- 
 more, do I promise and swear, that 1 will go on a Master Mason's errand, whenever required, 
 even should I have to go barefoot, and bareheaded, if within the length of my cable-tow. 
 Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will be aiding and assisting all poor indigent 
 Master Masons, their wives anrt orphans, wheresoever dispersed round the globe, as far as 
 in my power, without injuring myself or family materially. Furthermore, do I promise and 
 swear, that if any part of this my solemn oath or obligation be omitted at this time, that I 
 will hold myself amenable thereto, whenever informed. To all which I do most solemnly 
 and sincerely promise and swear, with a fixed and steady purpose of mind in me, to keep^ 
 and perform the .*ame, binding myself under no less penalty than to have my body severed^ 
 in two in the midst, and divided to the north and south, my bowels burnt to ashea in tlie 
 
» APPENDIX. 
 
 centre, and the aslies scattered before the four winds of heaven, tliat tJiere might not the 
 letist track or trace of remembrance remain amon^ men or Masons of so vile and perjured a 
 wretch as I should be, were I ever to prove wilfully guilty of violating any part of this my 
 solemn oath or obligation of a Master Mason So help me" God , and keep me steadfast in the 
 due performance of the same.' 
 
 OBLIGATION OF A ROYAL ARCH M\SON. 
 I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in the presence of Airnicshty God, and this chap- 
 ter of Royal Arch Masons, erfected to Go J, and dedicated to the holy order of St. John, do 
 hereby and hereon, most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, in addition to my for- 
 mer obligations, ihat I wiil not give the degree of Royal Arch Mason to anyone "of an 
 inferior degree, nor to any other being in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful 
 companion Royal Arch Mason, or within the body of a just and legally constituted chapter 
 of such, and not unto him or unto them whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him or them 
 only whom I shall find so to be, after strict trial, due examination, or legal information re- 
 ceived. Furthermore, do 1 promise and swear, that I will not give the Grand Omnific Royal 
 Arch word, which I shall hereafter receive, neither in the chapter nor out of it, except there 
 be present two companions Royal Arch Masons, who, with myself, make three, and then by 
 three times three, under a living arch, not above my breath. Furthermore, that I will not 
 reveal the ineffable characters belonging to this degree, or retain the key to them in my pos- 
 session, but destroy it, whenever it comes to my sight. Furthermore, do I promise and 
 swear, that I will not wrong this chapter, nor a companion of this degree, to the vF.lue of 
 any thing, knowingly myself, or suffer it to be done by others, if in my power to prevent it. 
 Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not be at the exaltation of a candidate to, 
 this degree, at a clandestine chapter, I knowing it to be such. Furthermore, do I promise 
 and swear, that I will not assist or be present at the exaltation of a candidate to this degree 
 who has not regularly received the degrees of Entered Apprerjtice, Fellow <!raft, Master 
 Mason, Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, to the best of my knowledge and 
 belief. Furthermore, that 1 will not assist or see more or less than three candidates exalted 
 atone and the same time. Furthermore, that 1 will not assist or be present at the forming 
 or opening of a Royal Arch Chapter, unless there be present nine regular Royal Arch IV. a- 
 sons. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not speak evil of a companion 
 Royal Arch Mason, neither behind his back nor before his face, but will apprize him of ap- 
 proaching danger, if in my power. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will not 
 strike a companion Royal Arch Mason in anger, so as to draw his blood. Furthermore, do 
 I promise and swear, that 1 will support the constitution of the General Grand Royal Arch 
 Chapter of the United States of America, also the constitution of Grand Royal Arch Chapter 
 of the state under which this chapter is held, and conform to all the by-laws, rules, and re- 
 gulations of this, or any other chapter of which I may hereafter become a member. Fur- 
 thermore, do I promise and swear, that I will obey all regular signs, summons, or tokens 
 given, handed, sent, or thrown to me, from the liand of a companion Royal Arch Mason, 
 or from the body of a just and lawfully constituted chapter of such, provided it be within 
 the length of my cable-tow Furtliermore, do I promise and swear, that I will aid and assist 
 a companion Royal Arch Mason, when engaged in any difficulty, and espouse his cause, so 
 far as to extricate him from the same, if in my power, wliether he be right or wrong. Also, 
 that I will promote a companion Royal Arch Mason's political preferment in preference to 
 another of equal qualifications. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that a companion 
 Royal Arch Mason's secrets, given me in charge as such, and I knowing ihem to be such, 
 shall remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as in his own, murder and treason not 
 excepted. Furthermore, do I promise and swear, that I will be aiding and assisting all poor 
 and indigent Royal Arch Ma^sons, their widows and orphans, wherever dispersed rround 
 the gtoiie, so far as in my power, without material injury to myself or family. All which I 
 most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to per- 
 form the same, without any equivocation, mental reservation, or self evasion of mind in me 
 whatever; binding myself under no less penalty, than that of having my skull smote off, and 
 my brains expased to the scorching rays of the sun, should I ever knowingly, or willingly, 
 violate or transgress any part of this my solemn oath, or obligation, of a Royal Arch Mason. 
 So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the performance of the same. 
 
 (B.) 
 OLD MS. copy OF ROYAL ARCH OBLIGATION. 
 
 [It was the author's first intention to have inserted in this place, all the obligations, as 
 contained in the old MSS mentioned in the text, that the reader might be the better enabled 
 to judge how rapidly these obligations have been increasing in length, even within the last 
 thirty years. But he is compelled to suppress them, for the same reason mentioned above, 
 viz: the already unforeseen extent of the work. It may, however, be enough to lemark, 
 thiit neither of the oblif^ations, in the first three degrees, as written out in these manusc tipt?, 
 is more than half as long as those disclosed by Morgan, and in common use. The obliga- 
 tions for the remaining four degrees of ancient Masonry, so called, are very much shorter.] 
 
 The Royal Arch obligation, so long and cumbersome, as given above, is all comprised in 
 the ancient ritual before me, under the four brief heads following:— " 1st. Forever to con- 
 ceal the secrets of this degree ;— 2d. Not to give the Royal Arch word, unless in the manner 
 
APPENDIX. 3 
 
 irt which it is received ;— 3d. Not to assist in the exaltation of a Royal Arch Mason, unleai 
 five members are present, nor more nor leas than three at any one time ;— 4th. To aid, sup- 
 port, protect, and defend a Royal Arch Mason, even with the sword, if necessary." To 
 this is added the penalty, as given by Morgan. 
 
 N. B. These MS3. give a more sensible and intelligible, and a less exceptionable, account 
 of the seven degrees of Masonry, than any other work the author has seen. While Morgan 
 was at Rochester, these papers were there, and already written to his hands. 
 
 (C.) 
 
 The following was the only obligation for all three of the degrees of ancient Masonry, in 
 the year 1730— only 102 years ago. At that time there were but three degrees known :— 
 
 " I hereby solemnly vow and swear, in the presence of Almishty God, and this right 
 worshipful assembly, that I will hail and conceal, and never reveal, the secrets or secresy of 
 Masons or Masonry that shall be revealed unto me, unless to a true and lawful brother, after 
 an examination, or in a just and worshipful lodge of brothers and fellows well met. 2d. I 
 furthermore promise and vow, that I will not write tliem, print them, mark them, carve them, 
 or engrave them, or cause them to be written, printed, marked, carved, or engraved on wood 
 or stone, so as the visible character or impression of a letter may appear, whereby it may be 
 unlawfully obtamed. All this, under no less penalty than to have my throat cut, my tongue 
 taken from the roof of my mouth, my heart plucked from under my left breast, then to be 
 buried in the sand of the sea, the length of a cable-rope from shore, where the tide ebbs and 
 flows twice in twenty-four hours, my body to be burnt to ashes, my ashes to be scattered upon 
 the face of the earth, so that there shall be no resemblance of me among Masons. So help 
 me God." 
 
 (D.) 
 First Proclamation of the Qovernor. 
 DE WITT CLINTON, Governor of the State of New-York, to state officers and 
 (L. S.) ministers of justice in said stale, and particularly in the county of Genesee, and 
 ll»e neighboring co\in\.\e,s— Or eeting -. 
 Whereas, information, under oath, has been transmitted to me by Theodore F.Talbot, 
 Esquire, and other citizens of the county of Genesee, acting as a committee in behalf of the 
 people of that county, representing that divers outrages and oppressions have been commit- 
 ted on the rights of petsons residing in the village of Batavia, and that disturbances have en- 
 sued, which are injurious, and may prove destructive to peace and good order in that quar- 
 ter. Now, therefore, I enjoin it upon you, and each of you, to pursue all proper and effi- 
 cient measures for tlie apprehension of the offenders, and the prevention of future outrages. 
 And I do also request the good citizens of this state, to co-operate with the civil authoritiea 
 jn maintaining the ascendency of law and good order. 
 
 (E.) 
 Second Proclamation of the Qovernor. 
 
 Whereas, it has been represented to me, that William Morgan, who was unlawfully con- 
 veyed from thejail of the county of Ontario, sometime in the month ofSejitember last, has 
 not been found, and that it might have a benificial effect in restoring him to his family and 
 in promoting the detection and punishment of the perpetrators of this violent outrage, if, in 
 addition to the proceeding heretofore adopted by me, a proclamation was issued offering a 
 specific reward for these purposes:— JVbw, iAere/ ore, in order that the offenders maybe 
 brought to condign punishment and the violated majesty of the laws thereby effectually vin- 
 dicated, I do hereby offer, in addition to the assurances of compensation heretofore given, a 
 reward of three hundred dollars for the discovery of the offenders and a reward of one hun- 
 dred dollars for the discovery of any and every one of them, to be paid on conviction ; and 
 also a further reward of two hundred dollars for authentic information of the place where 
 the said William Morgan has been conveyed, and I do enjoin it upon all sheriffs, magistrates, 
 and other officers and ministers of justice to be vigilant and active in the discharge of their 
 duties on this occasion. 
 
 ,T a ■» In witness whereof, I have hereunto set mv hand, and the privy seal at the city of 
 ^L,. ».; j^ib-jny this 26th day of October, Anno Dominil826. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON. 
 Third Proclamation of the Qovernor. 
 
 Whereaa, the measures adopted for the discovery of Williatn Morgan, afler his unlawful 
 abduction from Canandaigua in September last, have not been attended with success ; and 
 whereas many of the good citizens of this state are under an impression, from the lapse of 
 time and other circumstances, that he has been murdered :— Now, therefore, to the end that, 
 if living, he may be rescored to his family, and, if murdered, that the perpetrators may be 
 brought to condign punishment, I have thought fit to issue this proclamation, promisinga re- 
 ward of one thousand dollars for the discovery of the offender or offenders, to be paid on con- 
 
 72 
 
4 APPENDIX. 
 
 viction and on the certificate of the Attorney General, or officer prosecuting on the part of the 
 state, that the person or persons claiming the said last mentioned reward, is or are justly en- 
 titled to the same under this proclamation. And I further promise a free pardon,'so far as I am 
 authorised under the constitution of this state, to any accomplice or co-operator who shall make 
 a full discovery of the offender or offenders . And I do enjoin it upon all officers and ministers 
 of justice, and all other persons, to be vigilant and active in bringing to justice the perpetra- 
 tors of a crime so abhorrent to humanity and so derogatory from the ascendency of law and 
 good order. 
 
 (L S ^ ^" witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the privy seal, at the city of 
 "^ • "^ -' Albany, this 19th day of March, Anno Domini 1827. 
 
 DE WITT CLINTON. 
 
 (F.) 
 From the Albany Masonick Record, Feb. 10. 
 The Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the state o f New-York commenced its annual session 
 in this city on Tuesday last, and adjourned this day. t Upwards of one hundred and ten sub- 
 ordinate chapters were represented. Trevious to its adjournment, the following proceedinga 
 were had :— 
 
 To the Most Excellent the Grand Chapter of the State of JVew- York .— 
 
 The committee appointed by resolution of the Grand Chapter, on the affair of William 
 Morgan, respectfully reported .- 
 
 That they have attended to the duties assigned them, and that from the highly agitated 
 and inflamed state of publick feeling on this subject, and from the false and undeserved im- 
 putations which have been thrown ui)on Freemasons, and the masonic order generally, 
 your committee deem it proper thai this Grand Chapter should make a public expression of 
 its sentiments in relation to the affair alluded to. Your committee, as expressive of their 
 views on the subject embraced in this report, would offer for the consideration of the Grand 
 Chapter, the following preamble and resolutions:— 
 
 Wheteas, the rtghts of personal liberty and security are guaranteed by the free constitu- 
 tion, under which we, the members of this Grand Chapter, in common with the rest of our 
 fellow citizens, have the happiness to live: and whereas, we esteem the preservation of 
 these rights of vital importance to the perpetuity and full enjoyment of the blessings of our 
 republican institutions; and whereas, the community has lately witnessed a violation of the 
 same, under the alleged pretext of the masonic name and sanction, (in the case of William 
 Morgan :) and whereas, the principles of our ancient and honorable frateinity contain noth- 
 ing which in the slighrest degreejustify or authorise such proceedings ; but, on the contrary, 
 do in all their tenets and ceremonies, encourage and inculcate a just submission to the laws, 
 the enjoyment of equal rights by every individual, and a high and elevated spirit of person- 
 al as well as national independence:— 
 
 There/ore, Resolved, By this Grand Chapter, that we its members, individually, and as 
 a body, do disclaim all knowledge or approbation of the said proceedings, in relation to the 
 abduction of the said William Morgan ; and that we disapprove of the same, as a violation 
 of the majesty ol the laws, and an infringement of the rights of personal liberty, secured to 
 every citizen of our free and happy republic. 
 
 Resolved, That the foregoing report, preamble and resolution be published. 
 
 A true extjact from the minutes of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the state of New- 
 York. 
 
 JCHN O. COLE, G. Secretary. 
 
 (G.) 
 
 " Le Roy, JVou. 13th, 1827. 
 " Governor CliBton, 
 
 " I have seen a letter from you to Mr. Le Roy, requesting him to demand of the ed- 
 itors of the Gazette the author of a communication addressed to you in that paper. I am 
 the author. In your letter to Mr. Le Roy, you say you had no knowledge of the outrages, 
 and have never given any advice on that subject. If such are the facts, which I have no 
 reason to doubt, your name has been used for the basest of motives. And who have thus 
 used it i* The Masons. And why have they used it. -" For the express purpose of thiowing 
 their own crimes upon your head. Your name has been used more or less by Masons in 
 this section of the country, ever since theoutrages; and at this time a majority of Uie people 
 are so firmly in the belief that you weie consulted on that subject, that it is entirely useless 
 to urge any arguments upon that point in your favor. At the commencement of the outra- 
 ges I did not believe any assertions made by Masons respecting your knowledge on that sub- 
 ject. Neither did 1 suppose that they would go so far as to take life, in violation of all law. 
 But since I have been convinced, in my own mind, of the fate of the unfortunate man, I 
 have thought that the leaders of the outrages had authority from some souice or other, and 
 what source I do not know. From assertions made by Masons, (respecting you,) that were 
 engaged in the disgraceful afiair, my faith in your lepublican principles was considerably 
 ehnken. I am a Mason, and 1 have ever condemned the outrages. The morning that the 
 Masons went from thi.s place to Batavia, to arrest Pol. Miller, 1 and two or three others rais- 
 
APPENBIX. 5 
 
 ed our then feeble voices against the proceedings. We told them that the only way was to 
 hold perfectly still, that if they proceeded, they would give a credit to iho work that it other- 
 wise could never have. I was then told by their leader, that older peisons had been consult- 
 ed 5 and another one said that you had been written to, and that he had sworn not to permit 
 it— [permit the book to be printed]— or sulfer it to be done, if within his power to prevent it, 
 and go he would. 
 
 " There is one thing that I regret, and that is this, that I had not forwarded that commu- 
 nication to you, instead of the Gazette. But I had rather it would be as it is, than not have 
 been at all, for I have affidavits from Masons that were engaged in the outrages, which will 
 substantiate my assertions, and put the matter in a train that justice to yourself requires. 
 Mr. Le Roy will forward you copies of four affidavits, three from Masons who went to Bata- 
 via on the 12th of September, 1826, and one from Mr. Griffin, who is not a Mason. I pre- 
 sume your only object is to trace to its source, [and ascertain] the author of those slanderous 
 reports. After perusing those affidavits, you will be your own judge what course to pursue. 
 
 " Yours, respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BALLARD." 
 
 [H.] 
 State of J\reW'York, ) Franklin Marsh being duly sworn deposes and says, that on the 
 Oenesee County, ss. ) twelfth day of September, eighteen hundred and twenty-six, this 
 deponent was in company with James Ganson, and one other person not now recollected 
 by this deponent ; that the said James Ganson was asked if he had authority from the 
 Governor to suppress or prevent the printing of the secrets of Masonry, then about to be 
 printed at Batavia ; that the said James Ganson replied to said question — " We have a let- 
 ter," at the same time placing his hand against his coat pocket, and that this deponent 
 concluded from the manner, that the said James Ganson replied to said qtiestion, that he 
 then had a written communication from the Governor of the state of New-York, authoris- 
 ing the suppression of the publication of the said secrets of Masonry, and this deponent then 
 believed that the said James Ganson had a letter from the Governor on the subject of pre- 
 venting the said publication. FRANKLIN MARSH, 
 Taken and subscribed this 12th day of November, 1827, before me, 
 
 S. SKINNER, J. P. 
 
 State of J^ew- York, ? Hiram GritRn, of the town of Le Roy, in said county, being duly 
 Oenesee County, ss, S sworn according to law doth depose and say, that in the month of 
 August or September last, in a conversation which this deponent had at that time with 
 Franklin Marsh, of Le Roy, aforesaid, in relation to the outrages and attacks made upon 
 the person and property of David C. Miller, of Batavia, in said county, in September eighteen 
 hundred and twenty-six, the said Marsh then declared in the presence of this deponent, and 
 in the said conversation, that he, the said Marsh, should not have gone to Batavia, if he 
 had not seen a letter from De Witt Clinton, or the Governor, which letter authorised him 
 and others to take the course in relation to said Miller and his property which they did 
 take j snd that he, the said Marsh, wished the fault should fall or come upon the persons 
 who authorised them to take the course they did. HIRAM GRIFFIN. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn this 10th day of November, 1827, before me, 
 
 SAMUEL SKINNER, J. P, 
 
 State of J^ew-York, } Ellas Cooley being duly sworn deposes and says, that this depo- 
 Qenesee County, ss. \ nent was in company with James Ganson, on the twelfth day of 
 September, eighteen hundred and twenty -six, and that the said James Ganson. then stated 
 to this deponent, o" in this deponent's hearing, that the Governor had written on, or that 
 letters had been received from the Governor, by him, directing the manner of proceeding 
 to suppress the publication of the secrets of Masonry, or of ttie book, (the conversation then 
 referring to the book Morgan and Miller were about publishing on the secrets of Masonry, 
 at Batavia,) to the best knowledge and belief of this deponent .♦ and that this deponent 
 verily believed from the above statements, that the said James Ganson, or some other per- 
 son had received a letter or written communication from the Governor, directing a sup- 
 pression of the publication of said book on the secrets of Masonry, then about to be pub- 
 lished by the said Morgan and Miller, at Batavia. ELIAS COOLEY. 
 Taken and subscribed this 12th day of November, 1827, before rae, 
 
 JACOB BARTOW, Comra'er,&c. 
 
 State of J\reiD-York, ) Hollis Pratt being duly sworn, deposes and says, that on the 
 Oenesee County, ss. \ twelft;h day of September, eighteen hundred and twenty-six, this 
 deponent was in company with James Ganson, and in a conversation about the secrets of 
 Masonry being revealed at Batavia, the said James Ganson told this deponent that a man 
 had been to see the Governor, or had received a letter from him, and this deponent does 
 not now recollect which ; and this deponent asked him who that man was, and his reply 
 was. Gains B. Rich. HOLLIS PRATT. 
 
 Subscribed and Sworn this 12th day of November, 1827. before me, 
 
 S. SKINNER, J. P. 
 
C APPENDIX. 
 
 (1) 
 State of J^ew- York, } James Ganson, of ihe town of Le Roy, in said county, being duly 
 Oenesee County, ss. ^ sworn deposes and says, that tlie ttatement contained in the affi- 
 davit of Franklin Marsh, that he. this deponent, " was asked if he had authority from 
 the Governor to suppress or prevent the pruning of the secrets of Masonry, then about to 
 be printed at Batavia, and that he, this deponent, replied to the said question ' we have a 
 letter,' and at the same time placed his hands upon his coat pocket," is not tiue ; and .this 
 depont^nt further says, that itie statement in the affidavit of Elias Cooley, that he, this de- 
 ponent, stated to said Cooley, or to any other person, that the Governoi had written on, 
 or that letters had been received from him by this deponent, (or any other person,) direct- 
 ing the manner of proceeding to suppress the publication ol the secrets of Masonry, or of 
 tlie book, as stated in the said affidavit, is not tiue ; and this deponent further says, tliat the 
 statement contained in the affidavit of HoUis Pratt, that he, this deponent, in a conversation 
 with said Pratt, about the secrets of Masonry being published at Batavia, told the said Pratt 
 that a man had been to see the Governor, and had a letter from him, and that this depo- 
 nent named Gaius B. Rich as such person, is wholly without foundation in truth ; and this 
 deponent further says, that he has never, on any occasion, said, nor does, he believe that his 
 excelle^'cy De Witt Clinton, was in any manner concerned, or countenanced, or had any 
 previous knowledge of the late outrages and proceedings in relation to William Morgan, and 
 the suppression of a publication announced by him atid D. C Miller, of the secrets of l-'ree- 
 masonry : that the story that a letter was received by this deponent from Governor Clinton, 
 authorising the suppression of said publication, or in relation to the same, or that any letter, 
 or other written or verbal communication whatever, had been received by this deponent 
 from Governor Clinton, is utterly without foundation— neither was any such letter, to the 
 jknowledge of this deponent, or any written or veibal communication upon the subject re. 
 ceived by any other person from Governor Clinton. JAMES GAIN SON. 
 
 Sworn and subscribed this lOih day of January, 1828, before me, 
 
 JACOB BARTOW, Commissioner. 
 
 EXTRACT FROVT THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE GENERAL GRAND CHAPTER. 
 [The annexed extract from the proceedings of the General Grand Chapter of the United 
 States, at their triennial meeting, held in the city of New York, in September 1829, embra- 
 ces the tribute of resi)ect paid to the memory of De Witt Clinton by that body, referred to 
 at the close of the letter of Col. Knapp, page 31 6. It was written by Col. Knapp, and is as 
 feeling and beautiful, as it is eloquent and just.] 
 
 September 11, 1829. 
 
 AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 Most Excellent Companion Knapp, from the committee appointed on the subject of the 
 deaihof Most Excellent De Witt Clinton, made the following report, to wit : 
 
 The committee that had under consideration the subject of a proper notice of our bereav- 
 mer^t in the death of De Witt CUnton, the first officer of this masonic body, ask leave to 
 report — 
 
 That, as more than nineteen months have elapsed since this mournful event, in their 
 opinion, the customary fimeral rites so consonant to the heaviness of recent grief, and so 
 proper in their season, should be dispensed with at thjs meeting ; as shrouding our council 
 chamber in black, or wearing a badge of mourning for thirty days, would add nothing to 
 the deei> sense we feel at our loss, or fix more indelibly in cur minds, the recollecti.ms of his 
 services ; but as no accident nor length of time, can ever efface, or blot out his name from 
 the pages of his country's history, or lessen the weight of his character, we deem it most 
 meet and proper, while in session for the first time after his death, to leave on our records 
 a brief memorial of so great and good a man as our late High Priest, and also to tell the 
 World how sincerely we loved him, and to give our successors, or those who may search 
 our archives, hereafter, to understand what manner of man we tliought him ; we who lived 
 in his day, and were guided by his counsels. 
 
 For in him were united, exalted genius, profound acquirements, a happy tact in business, 
 with great patience, and unwearied industry. In the morning of life he took up the noble 
 determination to be great, and to make vscfulness the basis of that greatness. 
 
 He came to the dutiesof a freeman when our Republic, exhausted with the struggles for 
 independence, was attempting to fix our institutions upon the rights of man, and the princi- 
 ples of eternal justice, but there was of>en seen a timid hand and vacillating policy. In the 
 conflict of honest opinions he boldly took his part, and if his zeal at times excited the fears 
 of his followers, his i)atrif>lisin won the hearts of his opponents. 
 
 The potals of knowledge were then just opening anew, in this country, with the biight- 
 est promises, and he was charmed with all her paths. With the grasp of genius he held 
 the lamp of science through the wanderings of literature, and the mazes of politics ; and 
 moral, political and literary institutions received advantages from his intellectual light: nor 
 was he content to rest here; for he saw at a glance that Omnipotence when hf stamped the 
 features and maiked the physiognomy of the earth, gave intimations to man that he might 
 ehangeand improve these features for his benefit. His mind no sooner conceived than hia 
 «oul was fired with the project, which he carried into effect ; it was no narrow plan, no 
 
APPENDIX. 7 
 
 pitiful experiment, governed by village economy, or district politics ; the design Wvls worthy of 
 a master mind, and the execution of an herculean arm : the seas of the wilderness were 
 united with the Atlantic Ocean. He saw the labor finished, and heard the voice of the peo- 
 ple pronounce it to be good. In the midst of these arduous labors he did not forget how 
 much hunwn happiness depends upon well regulated affections, and permanent charities, 
 and he entered the pale of our order, and assumed the duties of master, almoner, and 
 priest ; to leach the ignorant and to check the wandering ; to feed the hungry, clothe the 
 naked, and to implore blessings upon ail mankind. 
 
 He was morally, as well as physically, brave— and in (he generosity of his nature, pitied 
 thit miserable flock, who in the mild and peaceful day, turned their plu-^iage to the sim for 
 brilliant reflections to attract notice and gain admiration from the world ; but who were 
 not to be found when the elements were troubled. He poised his eagle-wing in the whirl- 
 wind, and fearlessly breasted the peltings of the storm. 
 
 His enemies reviewing his life, are silent when they cast up the amount of his virtues, 
 and his friends love him the more when they recount the deeds he has done : malice never 
 charged him with avarice, nor did slander ever whisper that he could be corrupted by gold; 
 if sometimes dis ppointed ambition in a paroxysm, at the loss of office, alledged that he 
 was partial, in a calmer moment she was forced to confess, that his errors (for he washuman 
 and could not be free from them,) sprung from the irregular pulsation of too warm a heart ; 
 and fiom too much confidence in tlie professions of assimulated virtue ; and even envy, 
 that first vvi.shes, and then believes all ill, -owns, since he is gone, that the only harvest he 
 ever gathered in was glory ; and all must acknowledge, that the only estate that he left for 
 his orph;in children, is his fame. 
 
 Bis exertions were not limited to the temporal welfare of his fellow men, for he knew 
 that the excellency of all knowledge consists in divine truth, and he was unremitting in his 
 efforts to disseminate the sacred writings, believing that in them are the oracles of God, and 
 the promises of everlasting life. 
 
 His death has been deplored as that of one who di^d too early ;— but if the prominent 
 deeds of men are so many mile stones on the journev of life, his course cannot have been 
 short who has set up so many monuments as he travelled onward to eternity: true, all was 
 finished betore age had required the sustaining staff, or the helping hand. 
 
 Such was our companion and brother, the late chief officer of this General Grand Chap, 
 ter. The pride of those who lived and acted with him, and an example for those who may 
 hereafter arise to take a distinguished pait in the welfare of our country. 
 
 Let learned biographers write his life ; let talented artists chisel his monument, and 
 mould his bust for an admiring people, while we must content ourselves with i miniature 
 profile of him. traced in a single moment, when kneeling at our altars ; but there is some 
 consolation for us in feeling that this sketch is made, as it were, upon our jewels, and is to 
 be worn on our breasts, an emblem, a faint one indeed, of his image in our hearts. 
 
 Samuel L. Knapp, "j 
 Joseph K. Siapleton, 
 Jonathan Nye, } Committee. 
 
 Joel Clapp, j 
 
 Daniel L. Gibbins, J 
 
 Which was read, accepted, and the General Grand Secretaiy directed to present a copy 
 thereof to the widow of the deceased. 
 
9^ 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
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