The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-08

out, his supporters were aroused TO q
fury which had no subsequent counterpart
up TO the Tilden-Hayes controversy.
Rufus King, then admitted States Senator
from New York, declared that In his opinion
Clinton was lawfully as much Governor
Of Connecticut 90 no was Of New York, and
Hamilton agreed with him, but they both
oounselled peaceful submission TO the
decislon Of the State canvaasers. Clinton
entered upon his sixth term 90 Governor
amidst a storm Of vituperation and obloQuy,
and the Federalsts, having secured a ma
jority Of the Assembly, forced the election
OF a Council OF appointment, made up en-
tirely Of members Of their w party, headed
by Philip Schuyler. Az II by magic the
council was turned into q political engine
and suoh II remained until II was abolished
In 1891. Although Clinton had bean In office
sixteen years, only one case, and that a
doubtful one. could be cited In support
Of the charge that his appointments had been
made solely for political purposes. sohuy-
ler's justification for tho tr~ansformation OF
the council into q partisan machine was
probably tho conviction that postic Justice
required that Clinton; having become
Governor unjustly, should have his powers
reduced to their lowest terms. Whatever
may have been his motive, his action was
indefensible, and the fruit Of It wal nearly
thirty years Of corrupt methods and political
scandal. In january, 1Tos, Clinton declined
to stand for reelection In tho following
April, and John Jay obtained The Governor
ship, TO which he was reelected In ties,
beating Chancellor Livingston, the oandi-
date Of the Anti Federalists. by q large
majority. In tho Presidential contest Of
1900, Aaron Burt succeeded In securing for
the Republican party New York's twelve
Presidential electors, headed by George
Clinton and Brookholst Livingston and in
Guiding Gen. Horatio Gates, who had com
manded the Americans ut Saratoga. In the
campaign Burr and Hamilton had been the
protagonists Of their respective parties,
and Erastus Root, who heard them speak,
said, after thirty years experience In public
life at Washington and In New York, that
they were much tho greatest mon In the
State, and perhaps the greatest mon In
the United States" It 10 well Known that
Hamilton tried to deprive his antt-Federal-
LIST opponents OF . part Of New York's
twelve electoral votes by urging Jay to
oonvoke the existing Legislature, In which
the Federafists had a majority. and cause It
to pass q law transferring the choice Of
Presidential electors from the coming Legis-
lature to districts created for that purpose.
1t was computed that such q law would
give the Federalists six Of the twelve cleo
tors, but Gov. Jay declined to countenanoe
the measure.
The public life Of George Clinton was
not yet over. In 1901, John Jay having
declined the Federalist nomination for the
Governorship In favor Of Stephen Van
Renseler, George Clinton was for the seventh
time elected Governor by the J~eferonian
party, which also carried the Legislature,
and Herewith the Council Of Appointment.
A State Constitutional Convention, held in
October of the same year, declared that
the right to nominate, "a we'll as to confirm
q change which empowered the young
De Witt Clinton and his friend, Ambrose
Spencer, to sweep the Federalists out Of
every office, down to that Of auotioneer,
and, against the protests OF Gov. Clinton,
to install their own friends and family con-
nections in power. When the two had
finished their work only . single Federalist,
Jay Ogden Hoffman, the Attorney General,
remained In ofios, and he retained it only
until Spencer could take his place. There
is no doubt that subsequently, in the post
Of Chief Justice, Spencer had q distinguished
career, but In Mr.. Alexander's opinion he
never got owe being q violent partisan.
though his judgment was impartial and
enlightened when brought to bear on ques-
t;o-o - toD ,tnpOroplioafaA With oHairp IF
State.
The resignation Of John Armstrong about
this time from the United States Senate
made room there for Do Witt Clinton, who,
however, a year later resigned his seat to
become Mayor Of New York city. Such an
incident would now be scarcely conceivable,
although the city Of New York is at the
present time even moro ~preponderant over
the rest Of the State than 1t was then. A
hundred years g the small body Of men
composing the United States Senate, hav-
ing comparatively little to do, and doing
that little, for the most part, by general
assent, with no record Of their debates, did
not realize that they constituted the most
powerful ingle chamber in any legislative
body upon earth. Certainly De Witt Clin-
ton did not appreciate the fact that the
combination OF legislative, executive and
judicial functions In the United States
Senate mighAsne day enable It practically
to dominate the Executive and the House
Of Representatives. Our author suggests
that De Witt Clinton neither knew nor
cared whether he was taking a step up or
a step down to the Mayoralty, for ct the
lime he was engagedin the political annihila-
ton OF Aaron Burr. and felt the necessity OF
entering the latter's stronghold to deprive
him Of influence, Out Of six or seven thou
sand appointments made by the Council
of Appointment not q friend Of Aaron Burr
got so much o. the smallest orumb, and
Burr was even forced out Of the directorate
Of the Manhattan Bank, which he himself
had organized. Gov. Clinton, ~ we have
said, feebly opposed the wholesale slaughter
by refusing TO sign the minutes Of the coun.
oil, but through the change just made by
he Constitutional Convention the power
to cast one vote out Of Eve limited the ex-
tent Of his prerogative. So thoroughly
were the other four votbs controlled by his
nephew that when the council Of 1901 had
finished its work nothing remained for
succeeding councils to do until Clinton, the
DrotoAvpA of the marty boaa. undertook