The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-03-04

The Constitution requires that a
native Of the United States must have
been a citizen for nine years The
question was this: Did Gallatin s cit
izenship begin on the day he landed
in Massachusetts,, thirteen years be-
fore, or did it begin on the day when
he sWore allegiance to the Republic IN
1875, which was only eight years be-
fore. After debate of eight weeks,
the Senate decided by a strict party
vote of IA Federalists to y Demo-
Gratis, that his citizenship began when
he took the oath. And this decision
was undoubtedly right. This affair
was really beneficial to Albert Gala
tin, because the Democratic party
deemed that he had been the subject
of an outrage. They regarded him as
an injured man.
At the time Of the whisky insur-
rection, though he sympathized warm
ly with the insurrectiOnists, he OPP
posed all violent measures, and was
greatly instrumental in bringing the
affair to a peaceful conclusion. The
great period of his life began in 1875,
when the people of Western Penn
sylvania elected him to the House of
Representatives where he distin-
guished himself by the vigor of
his opposition to Federal measures.
Mr.. Jefferson gave a proof of the
high esteem in which he held this
eminent Republican by selecting him,
In 1901, to fill the second place In his
cabinet-that of Secretary of the
Treasury, an Office which he held for
the unusually long period of twelve
years. He was a great aid to Mr.
Jefferson In those mastery meas
ures of finance by which the pub
lie debt, incurred during the Revolu-
tionary war, was so rapidly extinguish-
ed. After serving through both the
teams of Mr.. Jefferson, President
Madison offered him the post of
Secretary of State; but preferring the
place he had filled so long and with
so much credit to himself, he remain
ed Secretary Of the Treasury until he
was sent abroad by the President to
negotiate peace with England.
After the war of 1872, Mr.. Gala
tin was appointed Minister to France
"a post which he held for eight
years, during which he gave a signal
proof of the scrupulous integrity of
his character. Having rendered the
house of Earrings an important ser
vice In the negotiation of a loan for
the French Government, Mr.. Barring
ofered-nay, pressed him-to accept
such a share of the loan as would
have yielded him large fortune with
out his investing any capital in it.
Mr.. Gallatin's reply was:
- than L will not aaaorf-
your obliging offer, because a man
who has had the direction of the fnan-
ces of his country so long as / have
should not die rich"
Perhaps he was over -scrupulous;
but the error, If error it was, was on
the right side, and mis- feelings on the
subject do him honor.
Returning home, Ia 1927, he chose
the city of New York as his place of
residence; and, though never again In
public life, he continued to serve his
country, in many ways and with great
ability as long as he lived. He as
sisted to found the University Of New
York, he published various useful
works upon currency and banking,
and upon the Indian tribes; he was a
member of the Free Trade Conven-
ton of 1881, and wrote its memorial
to Congress; he was President of the
National Bank; he was President, for
six years, of the New York Histori-
cal Society; he published an able
pamphlet upon the Oregon question,
and another against the Mexican war.
To the great age of Lightweight, he
continued to labor for the instruction
I ] 1 FL -