Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II, Part 8

Author: Moses, John, 1825-1898
Publication date: 1889-1892. [c1887-1892]
Publisher: Chicago, Fergus Printing Company
Number of Pages: 878

USA > Illinois > Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II > Part 8

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Time and opportunity, however, was found by the general assembly, five days before its adjournment, to enact a law en- titled "an act to indemnify the State of Illinois against loss by reason of the unlawful funding of canal indebteness," which · involves a very curious and interesting history.

In May and August, 1839, the trustees of the Illinois-and- Michigan Canal, to meet existing necessities, had issued ninety- day canal-scrip to the amount of $388,554. These certificates, it appears from the reports of the canal-trustees, had all been redeemed by 1842-3 except $316.

In January, 1850, Gen. Jacob Fry, for many years a canal- trustee, while on a visit to Springfield, discovered the fact that one of these old certificates had been offered for sale in that place. He immediately notified the auditor of what he had discovered and cautioned him and the other state officers against receiving such scrip. Upon examination at the fund com- missioners' office, he learned, to his great astonishment, that a very large amount had been funded and new bonds issued therefor, the sum, as then ascertained, exceeding $224, 182. Of course this discovery produced a profound sensation, and the question arose who had been the successful manipulator of the gigantic fraud?

The senate at once instructed its financial committee, com- posed of Messrs. Cook, Kuykendall, and Applington, to inquire into the matter. They made a thorough investigation, from which it appeared that in December, 1856, just before the close of his term of office, Gov. Matteson presented $13,000 of the scrip above described, for which he received new bonds. That during 1857, $93,500 of the same scrip was presented by him, for which new bonds were likewise issued, and that, including the bonds so issued, there had been paid to him at different times since, out of the state treasury on account of said canal-scrip, the sum of $223,182. The certificates thus pre- sented for refunding and payment were identified by Gens.

624

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

Thornton and Fry, ex-canal-trustees, and Joel Manning, the secretary of the board, as the identical scrip issued by them in sums of $50 and $100, and subsequently redeemed. They also recognized some of the scrip as a portion of that which, after being redeemed, had been packed in a large sealed box by Gen. Fry and Mr. Manning, which box was deposited in the branch state-bank at Chicago in 1840, where it remained until it was removed to the canal-office in the same city in 1848.

It further appeared during the course of the examination, that upon the appointment by Gov. Matteson of Josiah Mc Roberts as state canal-trustee in 1853, that officer had received from ex-Lieut .- Gov. J. B. Wells, his predecessor, the box de- scribed by Manning, together with another box with a loose cover, containing broken packages of cancelled canal-indebted- ness, which in many instances did not contain the amounts designated on their wrappers. He advised Gov. Matteson of his receipt of the boxes, which were said to contain all the books, vouchers, and papers, of the canal-office, and by direc- tion of the governor packed all the evidences of canal or other state indebtedness which he had received from his predecessor in a trunk and ordinary shoe-box, and having securely locked and sealed them, addressed the same to the governor at Spring- field. He placed them on the railroad at Chicago, and went with them in company with Gov. Matteson, then going to Springfield, as far as LaSalle, where they were left in charge of the governor who directed them to be sent to his address at the capitol.

The trunk was found in a basement room of the capitol, and had been opened, but the shoe-box had never been seen since that time. The box and trunk which, as the evidence showed, contained the redeemed and also the unused canal scrip of 1839, were thus directly traced into the possession of Gov. Matteson, it being established also that he subsequently appeared with some of the identical scrip in his possession and had exchanged the same for new bonds, while he had received the cash for other amounts directly from the state treasury.

The scrip funded by him was not in his own name but in the names of unknown or fictitious persons; and while he claimed to have purchased the scrip for a valuable consideration and

625

THE GREAT EMBEZZLEMENT.

witnesses testified to this fact, he was unable to remember or identify a single person from whom he had purchased.

The case thus made out against the ex-governor was a strong one and caused great consternation. He had been a popular officer and had not only been endorsed by his successor, but had been complimented by the legislature upon his retiring from the gubernatorial chair, for the efficient, able, and honorable manner in which he had discharged its duties.

Upon the development of the foregoing facts, the governor came forward in a communication to the committee, stating that he "had unconsciously and innocently been made the in- strument through whom a gross fraud upon the State had been attempted," and offered to indemnify the State against all loss or liability by reason of moneys paid on bonds issued to him on account of said scrip. Property was accordingly secured by mortgage to the State from which was subsequently realized the sum of $238,000 to satisfy a decree against him for $255,- 000. In the spring of 1859, the crime charged against the gov- ernor was investigated by the grand jury of Sangamon County. A large number of witnesses were examined and an indictment was agreed upon, which on the following day was reconsidered and the bill was finally ignored by the close vote of ten for to twelve against.

The committee of investigation, which was authorized to hold sessions in vacation, afterward made a careful examination of the financial affairs of the State, the results of which are embraced in a voluminous and valuable report to the legislature of 1861. They found that in addition to the frauds which had already come to light, others also had been committed during the same period with various kinds of scrip, amounting in the aggregate to $165,346. No offer or attempt was ever made to secure the State from this loss, the committee saying that "whether this scrip thus fraudulently taken from the State was the scrip which was in the box and trunk above mentioned can not be determined, because no descriptive lists of the scrip were kept."

Gov. Matteson subsequently removed to Chicago, where he died January 31, 1873.

Another attempt illegally to deplete the state treasury came

626

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

near successful accomplishment under Gov. Bissell. This was the funding of one hundred and fourteen of the bonds for $1000 each hypothecated to Macalister and Stebbins in 1841. By the law of 1849, the State had provided that these bonds might be funded at 28.64 cents on the dollar, which amount the holders refused to accept. Under a law of 1857, they came forward and claimed that the governor was authorized to take them up at par, and the supreme court was invoked to sustain their appli- cation. But that body declined to give any opinion in the case, on the ground that the executive was a coordinate and inde- pendent branch of the State government, whose official acts it had no power to control.

Afterward, however, Gov. Bissell ordered the state-transfer agent in New-York City to fund these bonds at par, under this law, overlooking or forgetting the fact that they had been expressly excepted by resolution of the legislature from its operation. His attention soon after this being directed to a more careful examination of the law, he became satisfied of his error, and ordered the funding stopped. The principal, $114.000, however, had been already funded when the order was received, but not the arrears of interest amounting to $78,660.

The auditor and treasurer deciding that they would not pay interest on the new bonds, which having been funded as "in- scribed" bonds, that is not transferable except upon the books of the funding agency, which had been transferred to the audi- tor at Springfield, they became valueless and were afterward surrendered to the State, which fortunately lost nothing by the transaction. The course of the governor, however, at the time was severely censured in opposition papers.

The impaired health of Gov. Bissell, confining him as it did almost entirely to the executive mansion, rendered the discharge of his official duties difficult and onerous. Contrary to the hopes of his friends, the cruel malady which had afflicted him for several years grew worse as time rolled on, and he having . caught cold, a fever set in which terminated his life, on March 18, 1860. He was buried at Springfield; the funeral obsequies were solemn and imposing; the burial service of the Roman Catholic church was chanted at the grave, and a funeral oration was delivered by Rev. Father Smarius of St. Louis.

JESSE K.DUBOIS

NEWTON BATEMAN

JOHN WOOD

O.M. HATCH

JAMES MILLER

CHICAGO.

ERGU'S FTG. CO.

ASI STOR

-LI WNY

BRARY

627

GOVERNOR JOHN WOOD.

In public as in private life, Gov. Bissell was distinguished for his many virtues and unblemished character. His manners were simple and his intercourse with his fellow-citizens frank and unostentatious. He was an orator, a gallant soldier, a states- man with large grasp of view, and a conscientious public officer. He was the idol of his family, hospitable, benevolent, and chivalrous.

John Wood, the lieutenant-governor of the State, who suc- ceeded to the unexpired term of Gov. Bissell, was born in Moravia, Cayuga County, New York, December 20, 1798. His father, Dr. Daniel Wood, was a surgeon and captain in the war of the Revolution. Having decided to remove to the West, young Wood came to Illinois in 1819, and in 1822, built the first log-house on the site of the present city of Quincy, at which place he continued to reside until his death, June II, 1880. A monument was erected to his memory by his fellow-towns- men, and dedicated July 4, 1883.

Gov. Wood was a bluff, large-hearted, enterprising pioneer. His education was limited, but he possessed a comprehensive mind and a first-rate judgment of men and things. His official duties during the few months he occupied the executive chair were discharged without removing to Springfield, he kindly leaving the occupancy of the executive mansion to the family of Gov. Bissell.

He was appointed by Gov. Yates, who greatly admired "the old Roman," as he called him, as one of the delegates to the peace-convention at Washington, in February, 1861. Upon his return, he was appointed state quartermaster-general, a position he continued to hold until the law creating the office was re- pealed in 1863, in which capacity he rendered most effective and invaluable service to the State.

Although over sixty-five years of age, in 1864, he raised the 137th regiment of Illinois infantry-100-day men, which he led to Memphis, where he soon encountered active service.

Brave and patriotic in public life, in private he was liberal, benevolent, generous, frank, and open-handed. Living until the later years of his life in affluence, his memory will be cherished by the needy and suffering for his many benefactions, and by the State for his devoted sacrifices and services.

528

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

During the four years from December, 1856, to December, 1860, the public debt was reduced $3,104,374, and the finan- cial condition of the State continued to improve. The receipts into and payments from the State treasury for the years 1859- 60, being $300,000 less than for the two previous years, were:

Received.

Paid out.

Revenue fund,

$690,440

$843,515

State-debt #

1, 192,010

1,466,261

Interest

949,082

913,099

School

183,897

188,355

Land

I39

Illinois-Central R.R. fund,

284,467

195,476

$3,300,035

$3,606,754

The administration of the offices of the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and superintendent of schools had been clean, efficient, and popular.

CHAPTER XXXV.

Review-Conventions and Elections of 1860-Administra- tion of Gov. Yates-The Political Situation-Twenty- second General Assembly-Senator Trumbull's Second Election - War - Clouds - Lincoln's Inauguration - Attack on Fort Sumter - The War of the Rebellion begun-Enlistments under Different Calls-Changed Conditions of Public Affairs.

LLINOIS in 1860 had become the fourth state in the Union

in population and wealth, having in the last decade out- stripped the states of Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Indiana. In the principal products of her fields-wheat and corn, she had now surpassed all other states and occupied the foremost position.

In 1850, she had only 270 miles of railroad, a smaller number than the mileage operated in fifteen other states. She now had in successful operation 2900 miles, and was surpassed in this respect only by Ohio. The acreage of farms had increased from a little over 5,000,000 to over 13,000,000; a larger extent of cultivated soil than was found in any other state, New York excepted. Her mighty city on Lake Michigan, whose gigantic strides in population, wealth, and power have been the marvel of the world, had made the unparalleled increase in population of nearly 400 per cent, that is from 29,963 to 109,206.

Her advance in power and influence in the councils of the Nation had been no less extraordinary than her local progress. From seven congressmen in 1850, she was now entitled to thir- teen; and in shaping the policy of the Nation, and directing the course of empire, no voice was more potent than that of the Prairie State.

Not in vain had her vast prairies, beautiful as boundless, waved their fields of wild grass, nodding their blossoming tops to the breeze, and beckoning man, lord of the soil, to possess them and transform their limitless products into gold. To the primal beauty of her native groves and smiling fields had been

629

630

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

added the handiwork of their master, under whose touch they had yielded the richer fruits of industry, improvement, and culture .*

The reaper and mower and fanning-mill had banished the cradle, the sickle, the scythe, and the flail, while the log-cabin had given place to more comfortable, convenient, and commodi- ous dwellings of frame and brick. Where had been seen the ox- team or the springless wagon, were now speeding along splendid spans of horses drawing vehicles of comfort and elegance. The old log-school-house had very generally given way to more spacious structures of brick; while church-steeples, pointing to the skies in every city, town, and hamlet, gave evidence that the moral world, no less than the intellectual and material, had kept pace with and derived benefit from the efforts to achieve a superior civilization.

In the world of politics, there was no less activity than in social and business circles. The ferment of discussion upon the slavery question had reached a point where some final ad- justment of the momentous issue could no longer be avoided.

The republican state convention of 1860 met at Decatur, May 9, every county being represented except Pulaski. It was held in a wigwam built for the occasion, and in material, enthu- siasm, and numbers has not been since equalled. Lincoln, the rail-splitter, was there, and Judge Logan, and Browning, and Wentworth, Palmer, Hurlbut, Oglesby, and Peck. Judge Joseph Gillespie was elected to preside.

The candidates for governor were Richard Yates of Morgan, Norman B. Judd of Cook, and Leonard Swett of McLean. Upon the informal ballot Judd had 245 votes, Swett 191, and Yates 183. On the formal ballot Yates gained 14 over Swett,

* The following table, from the census reports, shows the increase in the principal cereals and live stock :

WHEAT, BU. CORN, BU. OATS, BU.

HORSES. COWS. HOGS.

1850 9,414,575 57,646,984 10,087, 241

267,653 612,036 1,915,907

1860 23,837,023 115, 147,777

15,220,029

563,736 1,483,813 2,502,308

Manufactures, which were so insignificant as to be considered hardly worth enum- erating by the census taker of 1850, amounting. to but $2, 117,887, had now reached the respectable figure of $57, 580, 886.

The taxable value of all property in 1850 was set down at $119,868, 336, in 1860, at $367,227, 742.

631

STATE CONVENTIONS.

and Judd also gained. The second ballot was likewise damag- ing to Swett, both the others gaining from him. The third ballot was as follows: Judd 252-he losing II votes, Yates 238, Swett 246. Upon the next ballot the friends of Swett went to Yates, giving him 363 votes and the nomination.

Francis A. Hoffman of Cook County was nominated for lieutenant-governor; Jesse K. Dubois, auditor; Ozias M. Hatch, secretary of state; William Butler, treasurer; and Newton Bate- man, state superintendent of public instruction.

The democratic convention met at Springfield, June 13, and was presided over by Hon. Wm. McMurtry. The first ballot for governor yielded the following result: for James C. Allen of Crawford County, 157 votes; S. A. Buckmaster, 81; J. L. D. Morrison, 88; Newton Cloud, 65; Walter B. Scates, 14; and 4 scattering. On the second ballot, Judge Allen proved to be the favorite and was nominated. He had served one term in the legislature and two terms in congress, and was known as a popular and able canvasser. L. W. Ross was nominated for lieutenant-governor; G. H. Campbell, secretary of state; Ber- nard Arntzen, auditor; Hugh Maher, treasurer; E. R. Roe as superintendent of public instruction-a strong ticket.

State conventions were also held by the supporters of the Buchanan administration and by those who favored the Bell- Everett movement. The former placed in nomination for gov- ernor, T. M. Hope, and for lieutenant-governor, Thomas Snell. The Bell-Everett ticket was headed by John T. Stuart for governor, and Henry 'S. Blackburn for lieutenant - governor. These, however, were but side issues, the great contest being between the republicans, and the democracy as represented by Judge Douglas.

The national republican convention, held at Chicago, May 16, resulted in the nomination of Lincoln for president on the third ballot. It had become apparent at Decatur, that he was a much more formidable candidate than had been supposed. Forces were at work in all the free-states, of whose full extent he was not aware, which pointed to him as the probable choice of the people. He manifested some anxiety on the subject at Decatur, especially regarding the selection of delegates. And when asked if he would attend the Chicago convention, he

632

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

replied, "Well, I am unable to decide whether I am enough of a candidate to stay away, or too much of one to go."

Of course he narrowly watched the developments at Chicago, and was in constant communication with his friends, who kept him advised of every movement. While waiting at Spring- field for reports, he varied the scene by playing a game of house-ball. Upon hearing the result of the second ballot he expressed the opinion that he would be nominated,* and when the great news came he took the dispatch, and saying "there's a little woman down on Eighth Street that would like to see this," proceeded to his home amid the booming of can- non, the music of the spirit-stirring fife and drum, the loud acclaims of the people, and the congratulation of his friends. What a contrast between the joyous realization of his hopes and ambitions at this hour, and those feelings of despondency,

* Ballotings for president at the republican convention, Chicago, May 16, 1860:

First ballot.

Second ballot.

Third ballot.

States.

No. Delegates

SEWARD

LINCOLN

CAMERON

BATES

CHASE

Scattering )

SEWARD

LINCOLN

BATES

CHASE

Scattering

SEWARD

LINCOLN

BATES

CHASE

Scattering )

Maine_

N. Hampshire

Massachusetts

Connecticut ..

Pennsylvania _

473

Kentucky

Ohio

Michigan

Texas

Wisconsin

Iowa.

California

Minnesota

Kansas T'y_

D. of Columbia

Totals.

466

1735 102

50%

1843

18I

422

I80

2313

24}

Vermont

6 7 LA Iva

I - - 16-1 IO

I I HH

New York ....

Maryland

Delaware.

Virginia

Missouri

Oregon.

5 6

Nebraska T'y.

3 Nwal

A 4

New Jersey ..

Indiana

Illinois

Rhode Island_

On the third ballot, Lincoln required but two and a half votes to be nominated, and before the result was announced, Ohio changed four votes from Chase to Lincoln, which gave him a majority; other states followed, giving him a total of 354 votes. For Illinois delegates, see page 1205.

633

NATIONAL CONVENTIONS.

and signs of discouragement which met him four years before upon his return from the Bloomington convention. Flushed with his forensic triumph there, on arriving at Springfield he had notices posted that he would speak at the court- house that night. The house was lighted, and every preparation made for a large meeting. But no audience appeared. There were but three present, himself, his partner-Herndon, and John Paine, an old-time free-soiler. Lincoln stood up, and, with mingled wit and melancholy, said, "when this meeting was called, I knew that you would be here, Will, and you, John Paine, but I was not certain that any one else would be present. While all seems dead, the age itself is not. It liveth, as surely as our Maker liveth, and the time will come when we will be heard. Let us be hopeful, and appeal to the people."

The democratic national convention was held at Charleston, S.C., April 23, 1860, all the states being represented, with con- testing delegations from Illinois and New York. After a session of eight days, and the adoption of a platform, the delegates from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Louisiana-except two, South Carolina-except three, three from Arkansas, two from Delaware -including Senator Bayard, and one from North Carolina seceded from the convention.

The convention then proceeded to ballot for president, with the following result: Douglas 14572 votes, Guthrie 35; Hunter 42, Dickinson 7, A. Johnson 12, Lane 6, Jeff Davis 11/2, Toucy 21/2, F. Pierce I. The fifty-seventh ballot showed 15112 votes for Douglas, and 10112 divided among the other candidates, the former still lacking 161/2 votes of the requisite two-thirds. The convention then, on May 3, adjourned to meet in Baltimore, June 18. At Baltimore other delegations-those from Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, Delaware, and Kentucky-withdrew. Judge Douglas was then nominated by the remaining delegates, re- ceiving on the second ballot 18112 votes to 13 opposed.

The seceding delegates nominated John C. Breckinridge for president and Joseph Lane for vice-president.

A convention of delegates from twenty states, claiming to represent the "Constitutional Union party," met at Baltimore, May 9, and nominated John Bell of Tennessee for president, and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for vice-president. And

634

ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.

thus were presented in the presidential campaign, candidates of every shade of political creed.

In Illinois, the campaign of 1858 was continued and in some respects repeated, with the same candidates, but in what differ- ent relations! Douglas, as had been then predicted, was the candidate of a segment of the divided democracy, while Lincoln, whom he had then defeated, was, by the very notoriety of that contest and the masterly manner in which he had presented the arguments on his side of the issue then joined, again brought to the front against him and made the candidate of the united republicans of the entire country for the higher office of presi- dent.

For the first time in twenty years, during the progress of a political campaign in Illinois, the voice of Lincoln was not heard. But the record of his former speeches afforded the text from which the republican stump-orators in every free-state gathered at once their logic and their inspiration. Though the orator himself was silent, the potent echo of his voice resounded from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Douglas, on the contrary, ever ready for a fight and fearless of the consequences, carried the war of democratic factions into every slave-state. For the first time in the history of the country, a leading candidate for president went directly before the people as his own advocate and the exponent of his own views. He knew that his only hope of success was in the union of the democratic party, and although that hope was slender, he "buckled on his armour and went bravely to the fray;" with what disastrous result, is well known. Lincoln, while he received no votes in ten Southern States and but a light vote in the other five, carried every free-state except New Jersey, whose electoral vote was divided between himself and Douglas. Breckinridge carried all the Southern States except his own- Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, where Bell received a small plurality, and Missouri, where Douglas had a few more votes than Bell .*

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Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II, Part 8

Author: Moses, John, 1825-1898 Publication date: 1889-1892. [c1887-1892] Publisher: Chicago, Fergus Printing Company Number of Pages: 878

Author: Moses, John, 1825-1898
Publication date: 1889-1892. [c1887-1892]
Publisher: Chicago, Fergus Printing Company
Number of Pages: 878