cient inducement to murder him. People, even the meanest, do not put their necks into a noose without a motive. Still less will men of the class out of which Freemasons are made. The fact that Morgan was threatening to "divulge the secrets of Masonry" might have tempted lawless men to annoy him, to deter him from his purpose by threats, and thus to practice upon his fears, but not to murder him. Let the reader examine the records of one hundred murders taken at random, and he will find not one that was committed upon the insufficient inducement that is charged in the case of Morgan.

2. The facts do not justify the supposition that he was murdered. What are the facts? Why, that William Morgan was imprisoned for debt in the Canandaigua jail; that he was released on payment of the debt by the Masonic party, who are said to have abducted him, taken 120 miles through an open country, and finally placed in the old powder magazine at Fort Niagara. That this was done by his own consent and connivance, is made so plain in the narrative of the “abduction," that it is marvelous any one should deny it. The only fact that would at all incline us to a different conclusion is the resistance which Morgan made at the jail-door when requested to enter the coach that was to transport him westward; this must be attributed to the vagaries

of a drunken man. He went quietly to Fort Niagara, eating, drinking and chatting sociably with his captors, and proving beyond cavil that, whatever the motive of the "abduction," he was a party to it.

The fact that his movements, subsequent to his arrival at Fort Niagara, can not be traced up, need not trouble us. There are several theories that will satisfactorily account for the disappearance of a drunken, worthless fellow, unhappy in his domestic associations, abhorred by his associates, and despised by the entire community, without attributing it to murder at the hands of such a society as the Masonic. Had there not sprung up an anti-Masonic party, inspired by a malice more bitter than death, and resolved to brand Freemasonry as a nest of murderers, such an imputation would never have been made. The records of criminal jurisprudence have many cases more mysterious than that of Morgan, cases of the disappearance of persons whose lives had been threatened and who were naturally supposed to be murdered. Yet these in due time reappeared, to the confusion of the public. So it probably would have been with William Morgan, only that he was an old man, a man of very intemperate habits, and one who had no motive for returning to his old haunts, but every motive for avoiding them.

UCH is the story of the Morgan abduction and the most salient comments thereon. We must now proceed to take up what is to us the most interesting feature of the mystery-its effect upon the public, the manner in which it was utilized by a number of shrewd politicians and place-hunters—the story of how it went beyond their control and assumed proportions which frightened even these unscrupulous wire-pullers, and how after it-like all outbursts of unthinking popular sentiment had spent its force it subsided. into nothing but the vague memory of an unhealthy dream. It is one of the most noted chapters in the history of popular delusions and one of the most interesting to the general reader. It, however, did much harm. at the time to the Masonic fraternity; it seemed to many as though its ruin and utter extinction—in America at least-were assured. But the craft came through the fire of persecution unscathed except in point of numbers and in reality strengthened by the ordeal, for when passion died out and reason resumed its sway the result of the whole unhappy fever was to spread abroad a knowledge of the beneficence of its principles and the purity of its motives. This, of course, took some time, even after the wave of antiMasonry had subsided, to become apparent to those inside or outside of its honorable circle, but the brethren who remained faithful never lost heart and many were spared to see the Fraternity advance by leaps and bounds

onto a higher plane of public favor than ever. Then they could afford to harass the flank of its fast retreating and disappearing foes by such sallies as this-to select a few lines written by William Rounseville of Illinois:

"Masons killed Morgan." This assertion of the besiegers of Masonry we shall neither acknowledge nor controvert. We will treat it upon the assumption of our enemies that it is true. Then the case stands thus: Masonry has flourished so long that history gives no certain clue to the era of its establishment, and the utmost that can be charged upon it is that it killed a man. We submit that this is a pretty clear record for a society that has been so powerful and so persecuted for so long a period. It is doubted whether there is any other organization of as high antiquity which can present a better one. The Inquisition of Spain and of Goa, the fires of Smithfield and the gallows on which New Englanders hung the Quakers, established, kindled and reared by the Christian Church, by which thousands were tortured to death, make a much worse record for that divine institution than that of Masonry, even when written by its enemies. Masons themselves have not escaped the persecution of the Church, and more members of the Fraternity have perished by the public executioner, excited thereto and abetted. by the Christians of their day, than have been induced to desert the Lodge by the Christian associations during the past year.

The leader, the originator it may be said, of the anti-Masonic agitation was undoubtedly Thurlow Weed, a politician of a low type, a type happily beginning to disappear altogether-men who would stop at nothing short of a crime if thereby they could serve the interests of their party or their faction. Indeed, even crime has been committed by such

political excrescences to accomplish party ends, and selfishness is always found on investigation to be their main incentive to party service. For years Thurlow Weed was a power in New York politics; he pulled the strings and the puppets jumped, and the title of "King of the Lobby," popularly bestowed upon him, is significant of his character, his methods and his "statesmanship." He lived to an advanced age and in his later years professed to be animated by a good deal of religious sentiment, and, we very charitably hope, made amends for his earlier shortcomings. These were many, for he delighted in all the wiles of the mere politician, was ruthless in his treatment of all who opposed him and reckless in his statements regarding his enemies, was fond of working in ways that are dark, and was equally as ready to sacrifice friend as foe-if by doing so he could gain a point for his party and so advance his own paltry fortunes. He outlived much of the bitterness of his prime, mainly because he outlived most of his active contemporaries, and the world condoned the turbulence and selfishness and degradation (we can call it nothing else) of the past in the peaceful quiet which marked the closing years in the career of this once audacious political "king."

Thurlow Weed was born at Cairo, Greene county, in 1797, and learned the trade of a printer. In the war of 1812 he served in the ranks, and when his term expired he moved to New York, where he worked at his trade. His first experience as an editor was in 1819, when he established the "Agriculturist" at Norwich. He afterward founded, at Manlius, the Onondaga County Republican, and in 1824 became editor and part owner of the Rochester "Telegraph," a daily paper. His connection with the Morgan case, as told in his affidavit (Page 320) forced him out of that concern, and he founded sheet which he called the Anti-Masonic Enquirer, hoping to add to his finances by the storm he had stirred up. While serving in the legislature in 1825

he saw the need of a new paper in New York's capital, and in 1830 was enabled to start the Albany Evening Journal, which soon acquired an influential position as a party organ. During the thirty-five years he remained in control of its columns he wielded an immense power in the State-power which he used to his own advantage and profit. As a politician he was active from 1824, when he took part in the campaign which resulted in the return of John Quincy Adams as President of the United States. Thereafter no political contest took place in New York in which he was not more or less prominent until 1876, when, having seen his party safely through the Hayes-Tilden struggle, he may be said to have finally retired. He was a trenchant writer, one who could kill a man's reputation in a paragraph, and yet, in his younger days especially, he was noted for his geniality and tact. In his editorial columns he supported warmly many important measures, such as the abolition of slavery, the abandonment of imprisonment for debt and the development of the canal system, but he originated nothing and supported nothing until it first received his party's endorsement and support. He was not a great editor, but he was a great politician and used his paper to aid in his ambition in that direction. This it did thoroughly and for years he was the leading patronage monger in New York. His shrewdness kept him from seeking office for himself and he ruled through his appointees much more securely and pleasantly than though he had exposed himself before an official target. He slowly but steadily amassed a fortune, but to his credit be it said. that he gave away freely in charity and was generally active in philanthropic enterprises, especially after the heat and light of life's day had begun to soften and darken. He was in fact a curious product of the American political system, a product that all good citizens must hope will soon disappear forever from public view.

Morgan disappeared Sept. 13, 1826. A few

days before (Sept. 6) there had been a noisy political convention at Utica and the echoes of it had hardly died away before whispers of the disappearance of Morgan began to circulate. As the days passed and no word of the missing man came a feeling of uneasiness crept abroad, not of regret at the fate of Morgan-for he had not then been elevated to the status of a hero-but because it was possible for a man to be spirited away from his home and family and so completely that it seemed as if the earth had swallowed him up. The sentiment on the subject took definite shape as soon as the contents of an affidavit made by Mrs. Morgan on September 22 became known, and in it she directly associated the Masonic fraternity with the disappearance of her husband. After stating that two days after Morgan's arrest she asked Mr. William R. Thompson, sheriff of Genesee county, why her husband had been taken away, she proceeded:

Said Thompson told her he understood he had been taken under a charge of having stolen a shirt and cravat, and that he presumed it was merely a pretext to get him away or carry him away; that thereupon this deponent asked him if he thought Mr. Morgan could be got back, or brought back, if she gave up to the Masons the papers she had in possession; said Thompson answered that he thought it very likely that Mr. Morgan would be brought back if she would give them up, but he would not obligate himself or undertake to say that he should be brought back. That thereupon said Thompson proposed that this deponent should go to Canandaigua and take the papers and give them to Morgan, or to them, or give them up, and deponent agreed to go and take the papers accordingly.

She then related how she had gone to Canandaigua with the papers along with several members of the fraternity and how, stopping at Stamford, her escort and others examined. the papers and seemed to find them to be what they wanted, except that one degree was amissing. However, with one of of them (George Ketchum) she completed her journey to Canandaigua and there learned of his disappearance. "She asked him [Ketchum] if

he could hear nothing of Mr. Morgan. He seemed to pity deponent and told her not to be uneasy, and after looking at her a short time, told her to come and sit down by him, and asked her if she would feel any better if he told her what he knew. Being answered yes, he then said that Mr. Morgan would not be killed—that he would be kept concealed until they could get the rest of the papers. She asked him what papers were back. He said there were some sheets on the Mark Master's degree back; and they wanted also to get the printed sheets that Miller had printed on the three degrees. He then said he wanted to take the papers he had received from this deponent to Rochester and he thought through the means of them he could find out where Mr. Morgan was; it was a secret where he Said he had paid her passage and then gave her two dollars to bear her expenses home. * * * He then told her if she would by any means get hold of the papers that Miller had or find out where they were deposited so that he could get hold of them. he would give her twenty-five dollars out of his own pocket, and he had no doubt the Lodge would give her one hundred if she could get what Miller had now." On the next day Mrs. Hall, wife of the Canandaigua jailor, made her story of the abduction in the form of an affidavit.

was.

An eerie feeling took possession of the district which spread until, under judicious manipulation, the whole of the northwestern part of the State was in a ferment. Everything seemingly pointed out the Masonic fraternity as being the factors in the abduction and every member was held equally guilty. Awful stories began to circulate as to the doings at Masonic Lodges, or the nature of the oaths taken by the brethren, and, as usual, such stories gathered new points as they spread until a modest brother would hardly have recognized his fraternity in the awful association of cutthroats and assassins which any villager could glibly have laid before him. Public meetings

were held at Rochester, Batavia, Le Roy, Lima and other places in which the abductors were severely arraigned and their detection and punishment demanded, and even children. discussed the fate of Morgan in childish fashion, although it must be confessed their juvenile fancies were not much more ridiculous than those which animated their seniors not long after. The authorities were aroused, several judicial enquiries were set on foot, grand juries duly investigated and interrogated witnesses, but to no practical purpose, although Governor Clinton had issued a proclamation asking all citizens to co-operate with the civil authorities to maintain to ascendancy of the law. But all investigation, as we have seen, availed nothing and the mystery of the disappearance deepened as the days sped on.

The Governor's first proclamation was couched in general terms, but the feeling grew so rapidly against the fraternity that he felt something had to be done to bring about a solution of the mystery, the more especially as from his own intimate and prominent connection with the Order he foresaw that he would be involved in the pending disaster. Accordingly, on Oct. 26, 1826, about a month after public interest in Morgan's fate had been worked up, he issued a much more direct and forcible proclamation:

Whereas it has been represented to me that William Morgan, who was unlawfully conveyed from the jail of the county of Ontario some time in the month of September last, has not been found, and that it might have a beneficial effect in restoring him to his family, and in promoting the detection and punishment of this violent outrage if, in addition to the proceedings heretofore adopted by me, a proclamation was issued offering a specific reward for these purposes. Now, therefore, in order that the offenders may be brought to condign punishment, and the violated majesty of the law thereby effectually vindicated, I do hereby offer, in addition to the assurances of compensation heretofore given, a reward of three hundred dollars for the discovery of the offenders and a reward of one hundred dollars for the discovery of any and every one of them, to be paid on conviction, and also a further reward

of two hundred dollars for authentic information of the place where the said William Morgan has been conveyed. And I do enjoin it upon all sheriffs, magistrates and other officers and ministers of justice to be vigilant and active in the discharge of their duties on this occasion.

This brought forth no result and on March 19, next year, Clinton issued a third proclamation raising the reward to $1,000 for the discovery of Morgan if alive, and if dead, $2,000 for the discovery of his murderers and promising immunity to whoever would give evidence for the State.

Nothing appearing to satisfy public interest, the feeling of indignation spread until the Masons in Batavia and a wide section of country were marked men, and the feeling against the fraternity increased. Some weakkneed brethren began to desert the ranks and their stories and revelations only added to the excitement.

The Masonic fraternity were as much amazed as any at the course of public sentiment, and in the face of the multitude of charges hurled against them hardly knew what to deny. They seemed inclined, as innocent men in like circumstances would have done, to treat the vague charges of murder with contempt, and met with a general denial all the other stories of their criminal actions and purposes which were set afloat, and they laughed at the tales of their doings in their Lodge rooms because they could not explain them away by exposing in turn what really took place when their doors were tyled. Outside of a few brethren, the Masonic world of New York was as innocent of knowledge of or participation in the abduction of Morgan-if he really was abducted, which has never been clearly demonstrated—as were the children of immature age who could never have been in a Lodge room.

What the opponents of the order contended for may be gathered from the following declarations, written and published long before the anti-Masonic craze had reached its height