The two great parties on national and state questions were now fully organized. A general trial of strength was to be made in the approaching election. The result of this struggle would indicate the probable issue of the presidential election which was to take place in 1836. The address, accordingly, went into a thorough exposition and defence of the whig policy, and with this document, were concluded the services of Mr. Seward in the legislature of New York.

The court of errors, which was the court of final appeal in New York, from 1775 to 1846, was an institution copied from the English house of lords. It consisted of the chancellor, the judges of the supreme court, and the members of the senate. In the case of appeals from chancery, the chancellor gave his reasons for the decree he had made, but did not vote. In acting on judgments of the supreme court, the judges explained the grounds of their decision, but did not vote. Mr. Seward, although at that time the youngest member of the court, took a leading part in its proceedings. His course was distinguished for its independence, although he never forgot the courtesy due to his seniors. With remarkable power of analysis and accuracy of research, he made himself master of every case, that was presented for decision. An opinion pronounced by him in the case of Parks vs. Jackson affords an illustration of his character as a judge. In that case,* a technical rule had been applied by the supreme court, in such a manner as to deprive tenants of valuable estates for which they had contracted and paid in good faith. The reasons for this decision were assigned by Mr. Justice Nelson, of the supreme court, afterward chief justice, and now a judge of the United States supreme court. Chancellor Walworth followed in an opinion, in which he defended the judgment of the supreme court. Mr. Seward then arose and delivered an adverse opinion, and on the question being taken on reversing the judgment, all the members of the court, with the

* Wendell's Reports, Vol. XI., p. 456.

exception of the chancellor, voted in the affirmative. This seems to have been a case where the technicalities of the law came in conflict with justice. Mr. Seward, prompted by a noble sentiment of right, vindicated the claims of justice, against the arbitrary rules of law, carrying the whole court with him, in spite of their previous intentions.

On the 16th of July, 1834, Mr. Seward delivered a eulogy* on the life and character of Lafayette, before the citizens of Auburn. This was a chaste and beautiful production. It presented an admirable analysis of the character of Lafayette, with a discriminating review of the principles of the American Revolution, and of the successive phases of French politics from the death of Louis XVI. An account of a recent personal conversation between Mr. Seward and Lafayette, added greatly to the interest of the discourse.

CHAPTER VIII.

CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR-DEFEAT-AGENT OF HOLLAND LAND COMPANY-EDUCATION-INTERNAL

IMPROVEMENTS

THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD- CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR- ELECTION.

As the autumn of 1834 approached, when the election of governor was to be made by the people, the whig party were in anxious search of a suitable candidate for the important crisis. They were not wanting in men, whose political experience, distinguished ability, and brilliant repu tation, eminently qualified them for the office. Of these, some had already been candidates and had suffered defeat. Others lacked the elements of popularity that were essential to success. The general impression of the party favored the selection of a new man. The younger portion of *See Vol. III., p. 25.

EDUCATION AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

47

the whigs were earnestly desirous that the candidate should be taken from their ranks. Mr. Seward's distinguished senatorial career had made him prominent before the party and the state. His bold attacks on the policy of the administration had won the gratitude and the admiration of the whigs. It was mainly through his efforts, that the party had been organized, and no one was better fitted than himself to take the position of their acknowledged leader.

Accordingly, at the whig state convention held in Utica, September 13, 1834, Mr. Seward was nominated as a candidate for governor. The election came, and he was defeated. The result showed that the whig party had not been able to put forth its full strength. It had not yet gained confidence in its own power to cope with a party that had never been overthrown, and was sustained by the monetary influence of the state and the vast patronage of the national government. Mr. Seward received a flattering vote, and led his ticket in all the counties, but Governor Marcy was re-elected by a majority of about ten thousand.

Mr. Seward, having escaped the claims of public life, resumed the practice of his profession at the commencement of the year 1835. Nor did he lose his interest in the great political questions of the day. He still labored, with unshrinking fidelity, in support of the party to which he was attached, and of which, by a large proportion, he was regarded as the head.

On the 3d of October, 1835, he delivered an address* at Auburn on Education and Internal Improvements. This production was remarkable for its anticipations of the progress of the state, and its lucid exposition of the principles of government, which he afterward carried into effect, during his administration as chief magistrate.

In July, 1836, Mr. Seward established himself in Westfield, Chautauque county, for the purpose of assuming an agency to quiet the troubles between the landlords and ten

*See Vol. III., p. 128.

ants of the Holland company. Serious difficulties had arisen among the settlers on the tract of the company, and the services of Mr. Seward seemed important for the restoration of tranquillity. A change of scene also it was hoped, would prove favorable to his health, which had become impaired by his assiduous professional labors. The manner in which he conducted this agency subjected him to much reproach in a subsequent political canvass. But of this we shall have occasion to treat in another place.*

*

The election for governor in 1836 resulted in favor of Mr. Marcy, who received a majority of nearly 40,000 votes over the whig candidate, Mr. Jesse Buel. Meantime, Mr. Seward continued his agency, and his professional toil, with extraordinary success. His growing fame produced no abatement of his industry, and he devoted himself to the interests of his clients with the same earnestness and zeal which he had exhibited in his political efforts on the floor of the senate. During this period he prepared several essays, which display genuine literary merit, no less than a spirit of enlarged and comprehensive statesmanship.

Mr. Seward received an invitation to deliver a discourse on Education at Westfield in July, 1837. He accepted the service, which he performed with signal ability. The discourse was a clear and eloquent defence of the principle of universal education. It maintained the duty of giving public instruction to all classes of the people, irrespective of condition or circumstances. In regard to the education of females, it claimed for woman the highest standard of literary attainment, challenging for her the same intellectual advantages that were enjoyed by the other sex.

At a meeting of the whigs of Cayuga county, October 11, 1837, Mr. Seward delivered a speech of masterly ability. The state of the country called forth his most vigorous eloquence. The commercial revulsion, which he had so long

*See Letters to the citizens of Chautauque county., Vol. III.

† See Vol. III., p. 136.

THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD.

49

predicted, was sweeping over the land. Disastrous experience gave ample confirmation to the principles of the whigs. In his speech on this occasion, Mr. Seward earnestly appealed to the people to redress their wrongs at the ballotbox. This was only one of many efforts during the canvass. He was indefatigable in his exertions, which were now crowned with the most brilliant success. The election re

sulted in the total overthrow of the Albany regency. The whigs gained a triumphant victory throughout the state, electing six out of eight new senators, and one hundred of the one hundred and twenty-eight members of the assembly.

The New York and Erie railroad was originally undertaken by a company chartered while Mr. Seward was a member of the senate. He voted against the charter, not through hostility to the construction of the road, but on the ground that so great an enterprise could not be effected by a corporation, and that the road when completed should pass into the hands of the state, like the Erie canal, for the public benefit. His vote being misrepresented in the election of 1834, he corrected the error in a letter to a committee,* declaring himself unreservedly in favor of that great work. As he had predicted, the enterprise languished until 1837, when it was abandoned by the regency and its party in the legislature. It was still sustained by the whig majority in the assembly, whose policy, however, was rejected by a regency senate.

A convention of the friends of the railroad was held at Elmira on the 17th of October, 1837, at which Mr. Seward was present. He was the first citizen, living in a portion of the state not immediately interested in the enterprise, who gave it his personal support. At the request of the convention, he prepared an address† on the subject to the people of the state of New York, in which he gave a brief history of the road, and urged the adoption of efficient measures for its speedy completion. He placed the resump* See Vol. III., P. 417.

† See Vol. III.,

p. 306.