New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-11-09

its due Importance in history.
Mr.. Lothrop's general plan is to give as back
ground a careful sketch OF the political move
ments In which Seward participated Where ne
played a conspicuous part his leading acts ana
arguments are outlined. There Is no attempt TO
make It appear as II Seward was the one man OF
the time as bographers often do In respect TO
their subjects. AS has been said OF Others
Seward was wise In the selection or MS
ancestors; they were men Of character and cour-
age. His father was wealthy physician VINO
was. perhaps, the most prominent man IN MS
community. Seward was bright lad Of rather
fran health. and was therefore chosen as the son
most deserving a liberal education. He early
showed his determination to appear well before
his fellows. When the boy went to Union Col
lege his father would furnish none but the plain
est OF country clothes Young Seward put them
aside and went into debt to the local tailors for
suitable ones Weary Of his fathers severity on
this and other accounts. the student ran away to
Georgia where he taught school This ought to
have made the old doctor proud Of his son; ne at
least coaxed him back to his books. The college
course was ended and Seward was rising young
attorney in Auburn before his superior abilities
were fully recognized at home.
When only twenty-five he wrote party ad
dress against the clique Of politicians known as
the ALBANY Regency" His keen denunciation Of
their machine" and the way they used the Of
fees sounds like a committee report Of civil
service reform convention. OF course this was
theoretical and nearly twenty years later, when
the young zealot had grown to be ripe politi-
clan and the Governor Of the State. he showed
that the Wings knew how to use the Offices as
r1yo tl ole
that as early as 1926 he declared that there was
nothing to be feared from the threats OF dis
Union His opinions remained unchanged until
only a few months before the outbreak OF the
Civil War Among other things. he sad "And
the South will never, even in a moment OF resent
ment, expose themselves to war with the North
while they have such a great population OF slaves
ready to embrace any opportunity to assert their
freedom and inf1ict their revenge"
II was In 1924 that he became acquainted with
Thurlow Weed Weed was then young editor
in Rochester. The excitement on account OF the
alleged abduction Of Morgan by the Masons
brought them into a close political friendship
which lasted for nearly half a century. Sewards
attractive personal qualities, his good legal abi-
ties and his skill political writer soon made
him one of Weeds most useful allies Seward
went to the State Senate and Weed established
1.-THE Albany Evening Journal about the same
time After 1880 Weed was almost constantly
party autocrat In New-York. and Seward was the
one he preferred to put forward when he fore
saw that the party was coming into power After
the financial crisis Of 1887 the Wing party made
rapid nroads upon the power of the Democrats
Seward had a good name and many friends
throughout the State. and Weed easily made
him Governor by the election of 1888. The ideas
Fed
discomfort. He believed that the State could
leeislate relief for many of the Ills, and he en-
deavored to have the surplus in the National
Treasury used so as to get the treasures OF the
States out Of the embarrassments caused by too
lavish expenditures for internal improvements
Stewards favOrte policy was TO open up water
ways and railroads through New-York. In spite
of all perpexities and opposition. he insisted on
continuing the financial support for these enter
prises.
A early as 1910 there considerable anti
slayery sentiment in New-York and New-Eng-
land and before 1914 Seward and Weed recog-
n,zed the importance Of identifying 1t with the
whig party They foresaw that that party must
either absorb it or else be overthrown by IT,
while Seward was Governor he attracted great
attention by refusing to surrender persons
charged with aiding the escape OF slave from
virginia 1t was typical OF MS Iohohess io' Gre
atinr a political sensation-which ne frequently
displayed in later years-that, after every prac-
teal question relating to the incident had oeeh
solved ne embarked. as his biographer says. in
the discussion Of the proper construction OF the
constitutional provision for the surrender OF
fugitves from justice. insisting that 1t applied
only to offences recognized as crimes by the
jurisdiction Of all civilized nations. or to acts
made criminal by the laws both OF the STATE de-
manding and Of that asserting to the SURRENDER
and did not apply to acts which any one state
chose 10 make highly penal but which had no
criminal Significance in another. such as assisting
in the escape Of a slave" This called forth high
praise from Abolitionists and excited denuncia-
lions from Shareholders The most important re-
suit was that 1t gave Seward National reputa'
tion.
From this time on he had great influence over