USA > New York > New York City > History of the city of New York : its origin, rise, and progress Vol. III > Part 36
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1 Goodrich's Chronological History of New York, p. 105. On the 6th of November the Com- mittee of defense made out a report to the Corporation giving a detailed account of the work accomplished. They made special mention of the valuable services of General Swift, who received the thanks of the city, with a request for his portrait. Goodrich says : "As a final close to the transaction, soon after, the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States remitted to the comptroller of the city, in full for the one million of dollars advanced during the war by the Corporation for the defense of this port, stock of the six per cents at the mar- ket value, $1,100,009.87 ; which, after adding other claims, in all $1,204,326.25, of the city to the principal loan, which the government did not immediately allow, still left a gain to the city treasury of about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in the advanced price of the stock afterwards. Several years subsequently the debt was fully liquidated."
2 Prof. George Wyllys Benedict was descended from Thomas Benedict, mentioned in note, page 202, Vol. I. ; his four sons all became men of eminence. 1. Charles Linnæus Benedict, LL.D., appointed by President Lincoln United States Judge of the Eastern District of New York, and who has been called upon to decide many interesting, novel, and impor- tant cases ; 2. George Greenville Benedict, A. M., editor of the Burlington Free Press ; 3. Robert Dewey Benedict, A. M., a prominent lawyer of New York City ; 4. Benjamin Lincoln Benedict, A. M., well known as a journalist.
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DARKNESS AND GLOOM.
Monroe's scheme for a standing army of conscripts fell to the ground. Dallas made little progress in trying to establish a non-specie-paying government bank. The recruiting service came to a complete standstill as winter opened for want of funds. Every department of the govern- ment was behindhand in its payments. Tompkins sustained the garrison at New York by his own private credit, but it was an exceptional instance among the States. The treasury, to meet the pressure upon its resources, could only issue new treasury notes, reluctantly accepted by the most necessitous of the government creditors, and passing, in private transac- tions, at a discount of twenty-two per cent. New tax-bills were intro- duced into Congress, and opposed with angry vehemence ; several passed into laws about the middle of December. The year was drawing Dec. 15. to a close with nineteen millions of unpaid debts, and only about four and one half millions of uncollected dues as a treasury balance. And to add to the darkness of the hour, the dreaded New England Con- vention of twenty-six wise and eminent men assembled at Hartford on the 16th, and proceeded to deliberate with closed doors. For Dec. 16. three weeks the curiosity and suspicion of the war-party centered about that little body. And when it finally adjourned, the seal of secrecy was not removed because of the possibility of being obliged to reassemble ; thus the widest scope was given to conjecture as to its real designs, and it was made the target of all manner of bitter denunciations.
With the opening year the helpless and almost hopeless administration was without money or credit. The formidable armament of Ad- miral Cochrane was known to be on its way to New Orleans, a 1815. veteran army in Canada menaced an early invasion of New York in the spring, and, at latest accounts, Great Britain refused to treat for peace unless permitted to retain all American territory which might be held by British troops when the treaty was signed. Even the navy, which the accomplished officers who composed the germ of the service had demon- strated, from fact to fact, the ability of the American character to main- tain with honor, was languishing for want of ships and means. Decatur was ordered to sea in the President as soon as the danger of an imnie- diate attack upon New York City had subsided. He dashed past the blockaders at Sandy Hook on the dark night of January 14th, in the midst of a severe gale of wind and snow, but was chased by the Jan. 14.
whole British squadron, and, after maintaining a running fight along the south shore of Long Island for nearly three hours, was obliged to sur- render. The Hornet, Captain Biddle, having successfully run the block- ade at New London to join Decatur's squadron, sailed unmolested front Sandy Hook at daybreak on the 22d, accompanied by the Peacock and
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Tom Bowline, all under Decatur's command and in ignorance of the fate of the President. The Constitution, Captain Charles Stewart, cruising in the vicinity of Lisbon about a month later, fell in with two British ships of war, the Cyane and the Levant, and captured them after a sharp con- flict of forty minutes. The Wasp, which had performed many gallant exploits during 1814, mysteriously disappeared, and all her people per- ished in some unknown way in the solitudes of the sea.
It was the gloomiest moment America had known since the beginning of the war. But suddenly a gleam of light illuminated the horizon. News, first from New Orleans, then from Ghent, created boundless exulta- tion. The tone of the British government had changed as its troops were defeated in one place after another; and as its demands were relinquished, no further obstacles in the way of an accommodation remained. A treaty of peace was signed by the commissioners of the two nations on the 24th of December, 1814, and immediately transmitted to London. It was ratified on the 28th of the same month by the Prince Regent. The ship
Favorite arrived in New York under a flag of truce February 11,
Feb. 11.
bringing two messengers, one British, the other American, with the unexpected treaty. It was late Saturday evening. If the city had been struck by lightning, the news could not have spread with more rapidity than the word PEACE. People rushed into the streets in an ecstasy of delight. Cannon bellowed and thundered, bells of every de- scription rang in one triumphant peal, bonfires were lighted at the cor- ners of the streets, rows of candles were placed in the windows, flags were unfurled from steeples and domes, and night was literally turned into day. Strong men wept as they grasped each other by the hand in silent grati- tude ; others fell on their knees and offered touching prayers. Amid shouts and huzzas, expresses were sent out in every direction. No one stopped to inquire about the terms of the treaty. It was enough to know that peace was proclaimed. The Sabbath that followed was a day of thanksgiving. The churches were crowded, and every heart seemed melting. There was joy all over the land, and especially along the mari- time frontier. Schools were given a holiday in every town as the news came; the whole people, quitting their employments, hastened to con- gratulate each other at the relief, not only from foreign war, but from the terrible impending cloud of internal and civil struggle.
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CHAPTER XLVII.
1815 -1825.
PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
NEW YORK CITY AND HARBOR. - EFFECTS OF THE WAR. - GRAND BALL IN NEW YORK. - THE TREATY OF GHENT. - NAPOLEON'S RETURN FROM ELBA. - THE COMMERCIAL CONVENTION. - DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS. - PHILANTHROPY. - IMPORTANCE OF NEW YORK IN HISTORY. - THE ERIE CANAL PROJECT. - DE WITT CLINTON. - THE CANAL MEETING. - CLINTON'S CELEBRATED MEMORIAL. - ACTION OF THE LEGISLATURE. - THE CANAL COMMISSIONERS. - IMPORTATIONS. - FINANCES. - SLAVERY. - THE NEW CANAL BILL OF 1817. - INCREDULITY. - OPPOSITION. - THE BATTLE OF THE BILL. - BREAKING GROUND. - CHARITIES. - THE DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. - SOCIETIES. - SABBATH SCHOOLS. - THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. - EMIGRATION. - PAUPERISM IN THE CITY. - DESIGNING THE NATIONAL FLAG. - THE FIRST SAVINGS BANK. - THE YELLOW FEVER. - CHARLES MATTHEWS. - EDMUND KEAN. - INTERIOR OF THE PARK THEATER. - SOCIAL LIFE OF NEW YORK. - PRESIDENT MONROE. - THE GOUVERNEURS OF NEW YORK. - GREAT POLITICAL BLUNDER OF 1824. - RE-ELECTION OF GOVERNOR CLINTON. - LAFAYETTE'S ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK CITY. - BREAKING GROUND FOR THE OHIO CANAL. - LAFAYETTE'S TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRY. - THE VAN CORT- LANDT MANOR-HOUSE.
W ITH the restoration of tranquillity the whole aspect of New York City.was transformed as if by magic. Stores and warehouses long closed were freshly furbished and thrown open, newspapers were filled with advertisements, government stocks advanced, streets became clogged with vehicles once more, the hum of industry was heard on every side, and men with starving families found ready employment. The ship-yards were literally alive, and commerce plumed her white 1815. wings in preparation for flight to all quarters of the globe. The harbor was a peculiarly animated picture as the ice disappeared ; and its beauty and its magnitude were appreciated as never before. "Neither Naples nor Constantinople unites the various advantages of sea and river communication for which New York is distinguished," wrote an English annalist of the period ; while another writer described the " capacious bay formed by the conflux of the two great rivers and surrounded by protect- ing headlands," as sufficiently extensive to "float in perfect safety all the combined navies of the world."
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The population of New York City, according to the census taken in 1814, was a fraction over ninety-two thousand, inclusive of nearly one thousand negro slaves. The war had interrupted public improvements of every description, as well as the general business of the metropolis. But the city was still wealthy with the fruits of her wonderful progress since the Revolution, and her leading citizens had lost none of their broad intelligence, liberal views, and energetic activity. The talent, en- terprise, and genius of all America poured in ; and those who were fortu- nate enough to obtain a foothold, quickly imbibed the spirit of the New York people. Capital was not confined exclusively to business, nor to the city limits ; it began, almost simultaneously with the marvelous leap of the city forward on her grand career of prosperity, to flow into works of internal improvement all over the country in never-ceasing streams.
The treaty of peace was ratified by the President on the 17th of Feb- ruary. The corporation of New York appointed the 19th as a Feb. 17. day of prayer and thanksgiving to be observed by the various churches of the city - and the religious observances were of peculiar solemnity and interest. By order of the corporation, also, a grand illu- mination of the " City Hall and all inhabited dwellings " took place on the evening of the 22d, attended by a most brilliant and costly Feb. 22. display of fireworks. As soon as preparations could be perfected, a "superb ball" was given in honor of the joyful peace. Washington Hall, in Broadway, contained a great dancing-room, sixty by eighty feet, which was arranged for this occasion to present the appearance of a March 16.
magnificent pavilion or temple, with eighteen pillars, on each of which was the name of a State ; it was styled the " Temple of Concord." At the end of the room, under a canopy of flags, and surrounded with orange and lemon trees filled with fruit, was the "Bower of Peace." The guests numbered six hundred, and the newspapers of the day pronounced the scene " a picture of feminine loveliness, beauty, fashion, and elegance not to be surpassed in America." 1
The glad tidings of peace was received in Canada with transports of delight ; and there was great rejoicing in England. The treaty had not secured all that was desired. Neither country was exactly satisfied with the particular details of the agreement, but it guaranteed the positive and permanent independence of the United States, and the perpetuation
1 Among the New York ladies present at this elegant entertainment were the managers of the Association for the Relief of the Soldiers in the Field, formed in 1814 - Mrs. General Lewis, Mrs. Marinus Willett, Mrs. William Few, Mrs. David Gelston, Mrs. Philip Livings- ton, Mrs. Colonel Laight, Mrs. Thomas Morris, Mrs. William Ross, Mrs. Nathan Sanford, Mrs. Daniel Smith, Mrs. Luther Bradish, Miss M. Bleecker, Miss H. Lewis, Miss H. E. G. Bradish.
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and growth of free institutions. It was, moreover, an acknowledgment on the part of Great Britain of the existence of a formidable rival for the supremacy of the seas. Its first article provided for the termination of hostilities by land and by sea. The second related to the period after which the capture of prizes should be deemed invalid. By the third article all prisoners of war taken on either side were to be restored as soon as practicable after the ratifications of the treaty. By the fourth, the conflicting claims of the two nations in reference to islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy were referred to two commissioners who should be appointed, one from each government. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth articles, related to questions of boundary. By the ninth, it was agreed that both parties should put an end to hostilities with the Indians. The tenth related to the traffic in negro slaves, to promote the entire abolition of which both parties agreed to use their best endeavors. Sin- gular as it may seem, no mention was made in the treaty of the causes which led to the quarrel. Great Britain quietly abandoned her encroach- ments upon American commerce, and the right of search and impress- ment was heard of no more.
The American diplomatists at Ghent gave a public dinner to the ministers from Great Britain prior to leaving the continent ; the Inten- dant of Ghent, and numerous distinguished gentlemen were present. Everything indicated that the most perfect reconciliation had taken place between the two nations. Lord Gambier arose to give the first toast, " The United States of North America," but was prevented by the cour- tesy of John Quincy Adams, who gave, "His Majesty, the King of Eng- land" - upon which the music struck up "God save the King." Lord Gambier then gave as a second toast, "The United States, etc.," and the music played " Hail Columbia." A supplement to the treaty for the reg- ulation of commercial intercourse was to be negotiated in London, and Gallatin and Clay proceeded at once to that city. Adams waited for his family, then on a long and perilous journey from St. Petersburg to Paris, and thereby witnessed the meteoric return of Napoleon from Elba, March 20. who, without firing a gun, drove Louis XVIII. from the throne to which he had just been restored by the combined armies of the world. Ere long a commercial convention was signed, copied substantially from Jay's treaty, but with an additional proviso for absolute reci- July 3. procity in the direct trade, by the abolition on both sides of all discrimination. This convention was ratified by the President on the 22d of December, and has ever since formed the basis of com- Dec. 22. merce and trade between the two countries.
Prior to the adjournment of Congress measures were taken for the
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adjustment of national affairs in accordance with the new order of things. An appropriation was made for rebuilding the public edifices lately burned by the British in Washington. Systems of finance were discussed for the maintenance of the public credit and the extinction of the national debt - amounting to one hundred and twenty millions; and diplomatic relations were re-established with the nations of Europe. John Quincy Adams was appointed minister to the Court of St. James, and was re- garded in England as a statesman of unsurpassed general information, with a critical knowledge of the politics of the world. Albert Gallatin, whose gifts in diplomacy had been of signal value when the scales were trembling in the balance, was sent to France - William Harris Crawford having asked permission to return ; and James A. Bayard was appointed to succeed Adams at St. Petersburg, but was seized with an alarming illness and hastened home to die.
The devastating effects of the war were severely felt in New York. And yet the interruption to foreign trade had given birth to many branches of domestic manufacture. The people on the borders of the State were in serious distress, and appealed to the city for relief. It was only a few months since upwards of seven thousand dollars had been sent to the sufferers on the Niagara frontier alone, of which three thousand was voted by the corporation, three thousand raised by private subscription, and the balance contributed by the Episcopal churches. Steps were taken to meet the fresh demand, and philanthropists and philosophers consoled them- selves, at first with the glaring ostentation of brilliant and heroic achieve- ments -destined to reflect the highest luster upon the American name, and rank the United States among the first nations of the earth - and then in the study of their lasting significance.
It was impossible for the actors in the great struggle to foresee the pro- digious consequences of their devotion to cause and country. But it is none the less apparent to the intelligence of the present generation. The war had not only settled the question of the right of the United States to remain at peace irrespective of quarrels between other nations - the prin- ciple upon which Washington started, on which the Jay treaty was founded, and which since the treaty of Ghent has been universally recog- nized by the most ruthless belligerents - but it enlarged immensely the boundaries of self-knowledge in America. The passage of troops through the western wilds opened to the national vision boundless resources of wealth. The enormous expense and trouble attending internal transpor- tation of stores for the army, awakened public attention throughout the country to the necessity of an increase of traveling facilities.
New York, with as much territory as England, and promising to be-
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come as important in the future history of the world as England has been in the past, was not slow in making ready to execute the greatest work of internal improvement the world had ever known. The Erie Canal project was reagitated on a less doubtful basis than before the war, even while jubilant cannon were waking the forest echoes. There had been nothing vague or unreal in the fatigue, tribulation, and cost of con- veying war materials from Albany to the Lakes. In one instance the expense of mov- ing cannon was double what the pieces cost. The breaking down of wagons, the wearing out of horses, the hu- man discomfort, and the dis- astrous delays, were strong ar- guments in fa- vor of the enter- prise. But it ap- peared imprac- ticable. Many denounced it as wholly vision- ary. It was too vast in its con- ception for the common intel- De Witt Clinton. [From the painting in the City Hall.] lect. The natio- nal government declined to furnish any material aid. The idea of raising sufficient money in the State of New York alone was laughed at as the delusion of a fanatic. And it was supposed America had no engineers of sufficient scientific ability and experience to accomplish an undertaking of such magnitude.
De Witt Clinton's belief in the practicability of constructing a water highway from the Atlantic Ocean to the Lakes was like an inspiration. He was not the originator nor the projector of the Erie Canal. But when the crude scheme first took possession of his active brain, his judgment of its practical value, through his knowledge of the topography of the inte-
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rior of the State, was instantaneous. He entered heart and soul into the enterprise from which he rightly predicted incalculable benefits were to flow, and gave to it shape and substance, life and animation ; he became emphatically the master-spirit to carry it successfully forward. He was void of timidity, earnest even to asperity, prompt, energetic, and never disheartened by opposition, or hesitant where results depended upon the assumption of extraordinary responsibilities. He was arbitrary although kind-hearted, a safe counselor, a self-sacrificing friend, a discriminating judge, and generous to a fault, but one who never could forgive any politi- cal friend who interfered with his canal policy. As mayor of the city he was conspicuous for his faithful attention to its general prosperity. His genius found scope in planning important institutions, and in crowding forward the work of opening streets.
He was exceptionally dignified in personal appearance, tall, exceeding six feet in height, with a large, well-proportioned figure. His movements were deliberate, and in general society constrained, as if not perfectly at ease, which his opponents ascribed to arrogance and a sense of superi- ority. His head, finely shaped and admirably poised, was distinguished for the great height and breadth of his forehead ; he had beautiful curly chestnut hair, clear hazel eyes, a Grecian nose, and complexion as fair as a woman's. His tastes were literary ; he had collected a large library, and was perfectly familiar with the contents of every volume, from Ho- mer, Virgil, and Dryden, down to the Salmagundi of his own generation. He was well-read in theology, and he was captivated by science. He was, indeed, a man so wedded to the pursuit of knowledge that the won- der is that he ever embarked upon the stormy sea of politics, unless it was through his perception of the need of power to give effect to his efforts for the recognition of religion, and the advancement of education, art, science, and morals. He lacked many of the requisites for a successful politician. His doctrines, objects, and public policy were open. He had no gifts for strategy, no disposition to drill men into mere machines or employ unusual weapons, ambushes, or surprises, to crush an adversary. The severer the scrutiny into his character, conduct, and career, the brighter becomes his fame. Even his bitterest foes never denied that his intellectual attainments were balanced with unsullied morals.
Late in the autumn of 1815 Judge Jonas Platt was in New York City
holding court. Mayor Clinton had just returned from his country- 1815. seat on Long Island, and was residing in the Roosevelt house in Pearl Street. Judge Platt dined with him, and the canal subject formed the staple of conversation. Thomas Eddy a few days later invited the mayor and the judge to dinner; John Pintard was also a guest. It was
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determined on this occasion to issue some one hundred cards of invita- tion to influential gentlemen of the city, to meet at the City Hotel in consultation concerning the much-desired canal. At the time appointed the assemblage gathered. William Bayard was chairman of the meeting, and John Pintard secretary ; and, after addresses by Judge Platt, Mayor Clinton, and one or two others who objected to the proposed measure, a committee was chosen to prepare and circulate a memorial to the legisla- ture in favor of the Erie Canal, consisting of Mayor Clinton, Thomas Eddy, Cadwallader D. Colden, and John Swartwout.
This celebrated production was from the pen of De Witt Clinton, and attracted general notice. Its style of expression, sagacious reasoning, and immense amount of condensed information concerning the State of New York, was particularly effective. It was read with avidity. It appealed directly to the interests of the city. The whole commercial intercourse of the western country north of the Ohio would be secured by the contemplated canal - more than sufficient to render New York the greatest commercial city in the world. Clinton wrote, "The whole line of canal will exhibit boats laden with flour, pork, beef, pot and pearl ashes, flax-seed, wheat, barley, corn, hemp, wool, flax, iron, lead, copper, salt, gypsum, coal, tar, fur, peltry, ginseng, beeswax, cheese, butter, lard, staves, lumber, and other valuable productions of our country ; and, also, with merchandise from all parts of the world. Great manufacturing es- tablishments will spring up ; agriculture will establish its granaries, and commerce its warehouses in all directions. Villages, towns, and cities will line the banks of the canal and the shores of the Hudson." The document comprehended accurate knowledge of the subject in every feature. It contained plans and estimates, and suggested how means could be procured. The money would not be all wanted at once; and stock could be created and sold at an advanced price. In Clinton's opinion the augmented revenue from the public salt-works, together with the increased price of the State lands because of the undertaking, would more than extinguish the interest, at six per cent, of the debt thus con- tracted. Land had already been subscribed, and donations might be con- fidently anticipated, exceeding in value a million dollars.
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