Evening star., 1916-12-25
HUMAN RIDDLES
That Have Vexed the World
By JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.
Mysterious Disappearance of
Chancellor Lansing.

| One of our most brilliant legal minds
of a century ago was John Lansing of
| New York. During the revolution he
| was military secretary to Gen. Philip
Schuyler. After serving four terms in
the New York Legislature he became
member of the Continental Congress
and later returned to his state legisia-
ture, where he was elected speaker.
Subsequently,, he served as mayor of
Albany and, again, as member of the
Continental Congress.
After George Washington had COM
pleted his defeat of the British and it
became necessary to organize our gov
ernment. the New York Legislature ap-
pointed Lansing. with Alexander Ham
iiton and Robert Yates as delegate to
the federal convention, which was to
assemble at Philadelphia and form a
Constitution for the United States, but
I he resigned his membership in this
body on the ground that New York had
not delegated to him sufficient power to
help form new government, only au-
| thority to aid in passing amendments
to the old Articles of Confederation.
Yates, sharing his view. retired with
him, although Alexander Hamilton.
who remained in the convention, was
active in forming the Constitution.
Lansing was later member of the
New York state convention, in which
body he opposed the ratification of the
Constitution and was thereafter re-
elected speaker of the New York as
sembly.
a year following George Washing
tons first Inauguration to the Presi-
dency. Lansing become justice of the
New York supreme court Eight years
later he was honored with the robes
of the chief justice of that tribunal and
in 1901 succeeded Robert r. Livingston
as chancellor of the Empire state.
While holding that high office he was
unanimously nominated for governor
by the anti-federalists and accepted
the nomination, but subsequently
changed his mind and declined it.
Believing the Constitution as framed
and ratified by the federal and state
conventions in which he had acted as
insurgent inadequate, Chancellor Lans-
ing devoted considerable endeavor to
having our Magma Charter amended.
and 1t was partly as result of his
efforts that important amendments
were passed by Congress. He was an
able judge. One of the most noted of
the trials over which he presided was
that of Levi Weeks for the murder of
the beautiful Guilelma Sands. whose
body had been found in well In New
York city after she had mysteriously
disappeared on the night when she
AT this trial, one of the most famous
of that generation. Weeks was repre-
sented by both Alexander Hamilton
and Aaron Burr, and was acquitted.
- y Il
In 1914 Chancellor Lansing was re-
tired by reason of age. During the
next fifteen years he was one Of the
conspicuous figures in New York city.
on the 18th of December. 1929. when
in his seventy sixth year, he sat down
in his hotel in the metropolis and
wrote letter. Then he left the hos
telry, stating that he was going to the
foot of Cortland street to post his let
ter on board the Albany boat, which
lay moered at the wharf there. From
that time he was never again seen.
Whether he was robbed and murdered
or aecidently drowned has never been
known.
His disappearance was one of the
great mysteries of the time of our
great-grandfathers and subsequent
events have thrown no light upon II: