New-York tribune., 1879-01-15
THE OLD CAPITOL.

The King is dead-but why forget him so soon
The glory of the Old Capitol has departed into the
New. but why not spare moments thought TO the
square ugly, dingy building winch was hailed with
as much admiration, no doubt, seventy years ago.
as the brilliant company of last week bestowed upon
the new halls of the Legislature The Old Capitol,
Youthful as il seems when compared with really
venerable buildings, has stood through period OF
such rapid growth. that its life may almost be said
TO be coincident with the life OF the state 1t was
built ten years before the Erie Canal was begun.
and several years even before DE NlttCllnion began
70 a1tate his project of the big ditch" Its
stone was laid while Morgan Lewis was Governor,
who set all the wits of that day laughing by urging
that there should be a more dilIgcnt cultivation
of the art of drumming, because " the drum was
ol important in the day of battle" Its cOnstrHc-
tjon was stlll in progress when FutonS first steam
boat made it's first rip, gliding through the waters
of the Hudson at the sober rate OF hye miles an
hour Thomas jefferson was President, and James
Madison was Secretary Of State; Daniel Webster
WAS Young lawyer of twenty-five, settling down
Ia practice at Portsmouth; James Monroe and
william Pinkney jointly commissioned as en-
VOWS TO England. TO settle differences with that
country: Aaron Burr was on trial for treason at
Richmond Napoleon and Alexander were holding
conferences on their raft III the middle of the
Niemen Macaulay was little seven-year OLD boy,
p,aying on Clapham Common; it was two or three
years before poor old George the Third went crazy
with grief.
But the contrasts of that time with this, in our
own State show more plainly, perhaps, than any
other how much has happened during the life of
tins building not longer in fact, than the allotted
life of human being The population OF the whole
state at that time smaller than the present
population OF this city: there were then abOnt TO-
600 people Manhattan Island. while Albany.
which had been for only ten years the Capital, had
about one-tenth of that number of inhabitants. 1t
WAS lust before Martin Van Buren, had reached the
proud position of Surrogate Oi Columbia County,
fact that ought TO be very encouraging to ambitious
Surrogates, especially in Columbia County II was
about the time that Do Witt Clinton was getting
roundly abused in the newspapers for holding at
on, and the same time the offices of state senator,
member of the Council OF Appointment, and Mayor
If .be City of New-YOrk, the latter post being al
Legged by his critics to be worth $4,000 year.
The relative weight in politics Of different sections
If the State was somewhat dlherent from that of
TODAY. Washington County. up near Lake Cham
nl,iu has now two members Of Assembly to New
Yorks twenty-one; then il was a much larger
connty for Clinton aud Warren Counties are both
,ts on,prIng and il had six to New-Yorks
ul,c Kings County. which now has nine memhers
| had but one and DutchcsS, which has now but two
then had six; while there wcro groups Of counties
| having hut one member for the group such a. JEFF
| fcTson Lewis, and 81. Lawrence which were repre-
sentcd by single member. These counties have
| now. in all. siX representatives. IL was thc day
when the KnickeTbOcker was in politics; III New
YOrhs delegation Of eighteen members IN the House
of Representatives. there are such names kiilIan
X. Van Rensselaer,, Philip Van Cortlandt Peter