Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

Chapter XVIII Pg 404

In April, 1798, Colonel Burr Was Elected A Member Of Assembly For The

City And County Of New-York By The Democratic Party. This Year Was

Marked With More Political Virulence Than Any Other Year Since The

Independence Of The Country. It Was During The Year 1798 That The

Alien And Sedition Laws Were Passed. In The Autumn Of 1798, Matthew

Lyon, Then A Representative In Congress From Vermont, Was Endicted For

Harbouring An Intention "To Stir Up Sedition, And To Bring The

President And Government Of The United States Into Contempt," &C. He

Was Convicted, And The Sentence Was--"Matthew Lyon, It Is The Pleasure

Of This Court That You Be Imprisoned Four Months, Pay Costs, And A

Fine Of One Thousand Dollars, And Stand Committed Until The Judgment

Be Complied With." This Year The Celebrated Mission To France,

Consisting Of Messrs. Marshall, Pinckney, And Gerry, Excited The

Attention Not Only Of The American People, But Of The Civilized World.

In Short, This Year The Foundation Was Laid For The Overthrow Of

Federal Power In The United States.

 

 

In No Section Of The Country Was There More Political Excitement Than

In New-York. Parties Were Nearly Balanced. There Were Only Two Banks

In The City; The Bank Of New-York, And The Branch Of The United States

Bank. They Were Charged With Being Influenced In Their Discounts By

Political Considerations. At All Events, They Were Under The

Management And Control Of Federalists; And To Counteract Their Alleged

Influence, Colonel Burr Was Anxious For The Establishment Of A

Democratic Institution. With This View He Proposed To Obtain A Charter

For Supplying The City With Water; And As It Was Certain That If

Confined To That Particular Object The Stock Would Not Be Subscribed,

He Caused The Application To Be Made For Two Millions Of Dollars, And

Inserted A Clause In That Charter, That The "Surplus Capital Might Be

Employed In Any Way Not Inconsistent With The Laws And Constitution Of

The United States Or Of The State Of New-York." It Is Under This

Clause That The Manhattan Company Use And Exercise All The Privileges

Of A Bank. The Directors Were Named In The Charter, And A Majority Of

Them Were Of The Democratic Party.

 

 

It Has Been Said That The Charter Was Obtained By Trick And

Management; And That, If Suspicion Bad Been Entertained By Any Of The

Federal Members, Colonel Burr Could Not Have Got The Bill Through The

Legislature. It Is Due To Him, So Far As It Can Be Justly Done, To

Rescue His Memory From The Imputation Of Having _Misrepresented_ Or

_Misstated_ To Any Member The Object He Had In View. The Facts In

Reference To The Passage Of The Charter Of The Manhattan Company

Through The Senate Will Now Be Given. The Statement Is Upon Authority

That Cannot Be Contradicted.

 

 

When The Bill Had Passed The Assembly And Was Sent To The Senate,

Colonel Burr, During The Hours Of Business, Went Into The Senate

Chamber, And Requested A Federal Senator (Now Living) From The Western

District To Move A Reference Of That Bill To A Select Committee, To

Report Complete, Which Would Supersede The Necessity Of Its Going To A

Committee Of The Whole.

Chapter XVIII Pg 405

The Senator Replied, That Though He Had No

Objection To Make The Experiment, Yet That He Was Persuaded The Motion

Would Not Prevail, Because The Senate, Not Having A Press Of Business

Before Them, Uniformly Refused Thus Committing Bills To Select

Committees Instead Of A Committee Of The Whole. Colonel Burr Then

Suggested, That Perhaps If The Mover Would Intimate, While On The

Floor, That The Honourable Samuel Jones Was Contemplated As Chairman

Of That Committee, The Confidence Which The Senate Was Known To Repose

In Him, And In His Uniform Attention To Every Thing Relating To The

City Of New-York, Would Perhaps Induce The Senate On This Occasion To

Depart From Its Accustomed Mode Of Proceeding. Accordingly The Motion

Was Made, And Passed Without Opposition.

 

 

The Committee Named By The Honourable Stephen Van Rensselaer, Then

Lieutenant-Governor, Were Samuel Jones, Ambrose Spencer, And Thomas

Morris. It Was Suggested To One Of These Gentlemen That The Part Of

The Bill Authorizing The Employment Of The Surplus Capital Had Better

Be Stricken Out Of It; In Consequence Of Which That Gentleman Applied

To Colonel Burr For An Explanation On This Point. Mr. Burr Promptly

And Frankly Informed The Honourable Member, That It Not Only Did

Authorize, But That It Was In Tended The Directors Should Use The

Surplus Capital In Any Way They Thought Expedient And Proper. That

They Might Have A Bank, An East India Company, Or Any Thing Else That

They Deemed Profitable. That The Mere Supplying The City With Water

Would Not, Of Itself, Remunerate The Stockholders. Colonel Burr Added,

That The Senator Was At Liberty To Communicate This Explanation To

Other Members, And That Be Had No Secrecy On The Subject. The Bill Was

Subsequently Reported By Mr. Jones And Passed.

 

 

This View Of The Proceedings Of The Legislature Is Sustained By What

Occurred In The Council Of Revision, From The Minutes Of Which An

Extract Has Been Made.

 

 

"_At A Meeting Of The Council Of Revision, Held At The City Hall Of

The City Of Albany, On Monday, The 1St Of April, 1799._

 

 

"Present--His Excellency The Governor, The Honourable The Chancellor,

The Chief Justice, And Judge Benson.

 

 

"Mr. Reynolds And Mr. Robbins, From The Honourable The Assembly,

Delivered To The Council The Bill Entitled _An Act For The Relief Of

John Lansing_, The Bill Entitled _An Act For Supplying The City Of

New-York With Pure And Wholesome Water_, And The Bill Entitled _An Act

To Amend The Statute Of Limitation_, And The Bill Entitled _An Act

Making Provision To Keep In Repair The Bridge Over Schoharie Creek, At

Fort Hunter, In The County Of Montgomery_.

Chapter XVIII Pg 406

"The Council Proceeded To Take The Said Bills Into Consideration, And

Thereupon

 

 

"_Resolved_, That The Bill Entitled _An Act For Supplying The City Of

New-York With Pure And Wholesome Water_ Be Committed To The Honourable

The Chief Justice; That The Bill Entitled _An Act To Amend The Statute

Of Limitation_ Be Committed To The Honourable The Chancellor."

 

 

"_At A Meeting Of The Council Of Revision, Held At The City Hall Of

The City Of Albany, On Tuesday, The 2D Of April, 1799._

 

 

"Present--His Excellency The Governor, The Honourable The Chancellor,

The Chief Justice, And Judge Benson.

 

 

"The Honourable The Chief Justice, To Whom Was Committed The Bill

Entitled _An Act For Supplying The City Of New-York With Pure And

Wholesome Water_, Reported The Following Objections, To Wit:

 

 

"_Because_ The Bill Creates A Corporation, With A Capital Of Two

Millions Of Dollars, Vested With The Unusual Power To Divert Its

Surplus Capital To The Purchase Of Public Or Other Stock, _Or Any

Other Moneyed Transactions Or Operations Not Inconsistent With The

Constitution And Laws Of This State Or Of The United States_, And

Which Surplus May Be Applied To The Purposes Of Trade, Or Any Other

Purpose Which The Very Comprehensive Terms In Which The Clause Is

Conceived May Warrant; This, In The Opinion Of The Council As A Novel

Experiment, The Result Whereof As To Its Influence On The Community

Must Be Merely Speculative And Uncertain, Peculiarly Requires The

Application Of The Policy Which Has Heretofore Uniformly Obtained,

That The Powers Of Corporations Relative To Their Money Operations

Should Be Of Limited Instead Of Perpetual Duration."

 

 

"The Council Proceeded To Take The Preceding Objections Into

Consideration, Which Were Overruled; It Was Thereupon

 

 

"_Resolved_, That It Does Not Appear Improper To The Council That The

Said Bill, Entitled _An Act For Supplying The City Of New-York With

Pure And Wholesome Water_, Should Become A Law Of This State.

 

 

"_Ordered_, That The Honourable The Chancellor Deliver A Copy Of The

Preceding Resolution, Signed By His Excellency The Governor, To The

Honourable The Assembly."

 

 

"_State Of New-York, Secretary'S Office_.

 

 

"I Certify The Preceding To Be True Extracts From The Minutes Of The

Council Of Revision Of This State.

Chapter XVIII Pg 407

(Signed)

 

 

"Archd. Campbell,

 

 

"_Deputy Secretary_.

 

 

"_Albany, April 29Th_, 1836."

 

 

 

Of The Correctness Of The Above Statement, And The Fairness Of Mr.

Burr'S Conduct In Relation To The Manhattan Company, There Cannot Be

The Shadow Of A Doubt; But It Is Probable That A Large Portion Of The

Members Never Attempted To Examine Into The Extent Of The Powers

Granted To The Manhattan Company; While Another Portion Considered The

Project Of Colonel Burr, In Reference To An East India Company Or A

Bank, As Chimerical And Visionary. It Is, However, Evident That No

Trick Or Misrepresentation Was Practised To Procure The Passage Of The

Bill; Unless, Indeed, His Silence On The Floor Of The House As To His

Ulterior Views May Be So Construed. His Object Was A Bank; And When

Appealed To On This Particular Point, He Admitted The Fact. At All

Other Times He Remained Silent On The Subject. When The Bill Had

Passed He Was Lauded By The Democratic Party For His Address, And They

Rejoiced In His Success. Its Political Effect Was Considered Highly

Important, As It Tended To Break Down A System Of Pecuniary

Favouritism, Which Was Made To Operate In Support Of The Party In

Power.

 

 

During The Summer Of 1799 Vague Rumours Were Privately Circulated

Respecting Certain Transactions Of Colonel Burr With The Holland Land

Company. It Was Whispered That A Bond, Which The Company Held Against

Him For Twenty Thousand Dollars, Had Been Given Up For Secret Services

Rendered Them. In Other Circles It Was Hinted That The Compensation

Was For Procuring The Passage Of A Bill Through The Legislature

Authorizing Aliens To Hold Lands, &C. Connected With These Rumours,

John B. Church, Esq. Had Spoken With So Much Freedom As To Produce A

Challenge From Colonel Burr. On The 2D Of September, 1799, The Parties

Met At Hoboken, And Having Exchanged A Shot Without Effect, Mr. Church

Made The _Amende Honorable_, And The Affair Was So Satisfactorily

Adjusted As To Restore The Social Intercourse Of These Gentlemen. Mr.

Church Was Attended By Abijah Hammond, Esq., And Colonel Burr By Judge

Edanus Burke, Of South Carolina.

 

 

On The Ground A Most Ludicrous Incident Occurred. Previous To Leaving

The City Of New-York, Colonel Burr Presented To Judge Burke His

Pistol-Case. He Explained