Congress and to the Colony and State. As we have seen, on the 9th of July, 1777, he was elected Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, accepting the former office, and on October 4th he left the Legislature to take command of Fort Montgomery, threatened by the British, which, under his command, was valiantly defended, against a greatly superior force of the enemy, until night came, when the garrison forced its way through and escaped. His great military object at this time was to prevent a union of the British forces at New York and those under Burgoyne, moving south from Ticonderoga. How well he performed this duty may be gathered from a letter written by Burgoyne to the British Minister, Lord George Germain, on the very day that Clinton was inaugurated Governor, in which Burgoyne says: "I have spared no pains to open a correspondence with Sir William Howe. I have employed the most enterprising characters, and offered very promising rewards; but of ten messengers sent at different times, and by different routes, not one has returned to me, and I am in total ignorance of the situation or intentions of that General.”

In a letter to Sir Guy Carleton, General Burgoyne says: "I have no news of Sir William Howe. I have only to add, in regard to my future progress, that I shall be obliged to wait some days for the arrival of provisions and batteaux, by which time I think it probable the enemy will have fallen back to Saratoga, where I mean to attack them if they stand."

They did stand at Saratoga, and if Burgoyne could obtain no information concerning Sir William Howe, he received full advices regarding the Continental army under Gates.

The crowning success of this campaign, which put the cause of American Independence beyond doubt, both here and abroad, was partly due, in the great sweep of the military operations, to the magnificent ability with which Governor Clinton performed his part of the work. In October, 1780, Clinton led, in person, the militia to repel the invasion of the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys by Sir John Johnston and Brandt, whom he defeated and drove out of the State. But why should I recount his services, or the numerous marks of approbation he received for them from his fellow-countrymen?

In 1783 he was re-elected Governor, and again in '86, in '89, '92 and 1801; and in 1805 he was elected Vice-President of the United States, followed by a reelection to the same office in 1808, and died in Washington on the 20th of April, 1812, being the anniversary of the adoption of the New York Constitution, while administering the second office in the gift of the country, and at the age of seventythree years.

Gen. Clinton was prepossessing in appearance, not tall, but massive in stature. His demeanor was dignified, and his strongly marked face, indicative of courage, decision and energy, would be taken as a type of the best specimens of our Ulster County farmers, broadened by education and participation in important affairs. His portrait in the New York Historical Society represents a bronzed and manly person, carefully dressed in the costume of the day, with short breeches and buckles, and with ruffles in the bosom and at the cuffs. At the time of his inauguration he was in the thirty-eighth year of his age.

Toward evening of the 30th of July, 1777, the bells of the Dutch church, the Court-house and Kingston Academy were heard ringing out as if for a joyous festival. The people, to whom notice had also been given by the Rev. Mr. Doll on the Sunday preceding, wended their way toward the Court-house. On either side of its door, and facing inwards, were ranged the companies of Captains

Bogardus and Elmendorf. The dark mass of the Court-house formed the background of the scene, while across the street was the great pile of the Dutch church, with its separate belfry tower up-rearing far above it. On the front and right stretched away the mounds marking the graves of the fathers of the inhabitants who were present, and on the left the view was bounded by the Vanderlyn mansion. The Council of Safety, having met and organized in the court-room, descended and took their places on the steps of the Court-house and at the head of the square formed by the military companies. There was the accomplished Pierre Van Cortlandt, President of the Council, who became Lieutenant-Governor under Clinton, and subsequently presided in the Senate of this State with recognized ability and dignity. There was Christopher Tappen, whose sister George Clinton had married, who was for long years the leading lay officer of the venerable church of Kingston, and who subsequently sat in the Assembly for three successive years, and was a Senator from the middle district in 1797. There was Zephaniah Platt, afterward first Judge of the County of Dutchess and a State Senator, who founded the town of Plattsburg in 1785, and died there in 1807. There, too, was that noble son of Ulster, who subscribed himself Charles Dewitt of Greenkill, and who, perhaps, after Clinton, was the most prominent man from this County during the whole revolutionary period. As a member of the last Legislature which sat under the royal authority he was one of the nine resolute and patriotic men who voted to approve the proceedings of the Continental Congress then sitting in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Committee to prepare a draft of the Constitution, and after the treaty of peace he was chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress. There, too, was the Christian gentleman, Gilbert Livingston, representing the County of Dutchess, who set one of the earliest examples of practical philanthropy by the liberation of all his slaves. And there were Major Peter Van Zandt and Thomas Tredwell, the latter a graduate of Princeton College, who held successively nearly all the offices in the County of Suffolk, and was reckoned among those of his day who had the best pretensions to scholarship and classical taste.

There, too, were Robert Harper and Matthew Cantine, and next to them Gen. John Morin Scott, who graduated at Yale in 1746, was present with his brigade in the battle of Long Island, and subsequently became Secretary of State of New York. Nor must I pass without special mention the youngest member of the Committee of Safety, for the well-bred figure standing on the left of the little semi-circle surrounding Clinton is that of Robert R. Livingston, who became the first Chancellor of the State of New York, and in this official capacity administered the oath of office to Washington on his inauguration as first President of the United States. In 1781 Livingston was made Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and in 1801, resigning the Chancellorship, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to France, where he successfully negotiated the treaty for the cession of Louisiana. It is said of him that as an orator and patriot he was so distinguished a person that Franklin in his admiration termed him the Cicero of America.

By the provisions of an act of Congress, each State in the Union is entitled to a place in the Capitol at Washington for the statues of two of its most eminent citizens. The selections have been made, the verdict of posterity has confirmed the judgment of our fathers, and the citizens of New York, whose steps are hereafter guided to the dome of the Capitol, will, in that great companionship of silent heroes, gaze with satisfaction upon the marble features of George Clinton and Robert R. Livingston.

Of the old citizens of this town, who, we find, were not absent with the army of Washington, or at Saratoga, or in the Highlands, we can well imagine the presence of those who bore familiar names. There was the courteous and hospitable Huguenot, Colonel Abraham Hasbrouck, who had just relinquished the command of one of our county regiments. There were Nicholas and Benjamin Bogardus, at the head of the farmers who came from the direction of Hurley. There was Johannis Sleight, Chairman of the Committee of Kingston, and Abraham Hoffman, afterward one of the Judges of the Common Pleas. There was Joseph Gasherie, who became the first Surrogate of the County, and Abraham B. Bancker, for many years the careful and respected Clerk of the Senate.

Colonel Jacobus S. Bruyn was absent with the troops at Fort Montgomery, but the ladies of his family could be distinguished in the group to the left, near the Vanderlyn mansion. There was old Jeremiah Dubois at the head of the residents of Twaalfskill, and Captain Egbert Schoonmaker, of Coxsing in Marbletown, commanding the guard over the prisoners in the fleet. There, too, were Abraham Delamater and Jacob Tremper; Peter Vanderlyn and Abraham Van Keuren; Peter Dumond and Peter Jansen; Tobias Van Buren and Peter Roggen; Peter Marius Groen, Jacob Marius Groen and Henry Schoonmaker; Dr. Luke Kierstedt and Joshua Dubois.

These well-known citizens came with their families and colored servants; and with them came the Mastens, Van Steenburghs, Burhanses, Ten Broecks, Beckmans, Swarts, Newkirks, Snyders, Houghtailings, Persens, Eltinges, Elmendorfs and Vosburgs, and many others whose names are familiar in our early records. And the saucy beauty of the wife of Captain Thomas Van Gaasbeck could be easily distinguished as she came with the matrons and maidens from East Front John Vanderlyn, the painter, was still an infant, and if present he must have been carried in the arms of one of his family to witness a ceremonial, some of the actors in which he afterward reproduced on canvas - the likeness of Chancellor Livingston, in the possession of the New York Historical Society, being a

street.

specimen of his master hand.

When silence had been commanded by a flourish of the drums of the military companies, Egbert Dumond, the Sheriff of the County, mounted a temporary elevation, and read to the people as follows:

A PROCLAMATION.

IN COUNCIL OF SAFETY FOR THE
STATE OF NEW YORK, July 30, 1777.

1777.} WHEREAS, His Excellency, George Clinton, Esq., has been duly elected Governor of the State of New York, and hath this day qualified himself for the execution of his office, by taking in the Council the oaths required by the Constitution of this State, to enable him to exercise his said office; this Council doth, therefore, hereby, in the name and by the authority of the good people of this State, proclaim and declare the said George Clinton, Esq., Governor, General and Commander-in-Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of this State, to whom the good people of this State are to pay all due obedience, according to the laws and Constitution thereof.

By order of the Council of Safety:

PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT, President.

And then Sheriff Dumond added, in a loud voice, “God save the people." The authority of the King of Great Britain was paramount in the city of New York and in the whole lower part of the State. The legions of Burgoyne had met with an uninterrupted course of successes, and it did not seem that an adequate force could be raised to prevent the accomplishment of their object — to a line which should divide all the Eastern States from New Jersey and

occupy

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those south of it. Besides, Col. St. Leger, with a large body of regulars and Indians, was pressing upon our western border and investing Fort Schuyler at the head of the Mohawk. There was not, in fact, during this summer, a county in this State, as it then existed, which escaped a visit from the armies of the enemy. In the midst of this portentous crisis George Clinton was inaugurated Governor. In view of the subsequent events and catastrophe of the Revolutionary war, we may well say: "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

"Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors."

In the middle watches of this summer night, to the imaginative ear the sound of strange footsteps will be borne. If you listen carefully you will hear the measured step of Peter Stuyvesant, as he comes marching up from Rondout with fifty soldiers to save the Esopus. The stately tread of John Jay and the fathers will be discerned as they seek to revisit the scenes of their patriotic endeavor; but if you descry their forms the most resolute and authoritative figure of them all will be that of George Clinton, of Ulster, seven times Governor of the Empire State and twice Vice-President of the Union.

At the conclusion of Gen. SHARPE'S Address, letters of regret were read from numerous distinguished people. The following was from Ex-Gov. HORATIO SEYMOUR:

To the Hon. T. R. WESTBROOK, Chairman, etc.:

DEAR SIR-I am glad to learn that the formation of our State Government at Kingston one hundred years ago is to be commemorated. It concerns the honor and interests of New York that this should be done. No people can rise to a high degree of virtue or patriotism who do not know about nor care for the achievements of their fathers. The man who learns the history of the Constitution of this State makes no small advance in knowledge of jurisprudence, of political events and of patriotic action. The Revolution was not merely a martial struggle. Graver doubts and fears than those which grew out of the military power of Great Britain disturbed the minds of leading men when they resolved to sever the ties which bound them to that nation.

They had been trained in the faith that its form of government was the most perfect devised by the wisdom of man, their devotion to its dignity and success had been made deep and strong during the hundred years of struggle with France for the control of this continent. For more than a century the British flag was the standard under which they had fought against the invasions of disciplined armies, or the cruel ravages of savage tribes. The wrongs which drove our fathers to resistance caused less fear of war than of the untried political systems which independence would force them to adopt.

NEW YORK'S CONSTITUTION.

When New York framed its Constitution, amid the confusion of civil war, it gave proof that the men of the State were thoroughly versed in principles of civil liberty and good government. It was hailed throughout the country as a triumph for the cause of independence. It was better than a victory upon a battle field. John Adams expressed the opinions of the best and greatest men of the day when he wrote to John Jay that it excelled all others in its wisdom. It gave strength and confidence to the patriots of the revolution. The superiority of this Constitution was not accidental, nor was it merely the result of the ability of John Jay and his associates, who put it into form. It was due to a series of causes, beginning with the settlement of the Dutch on the Hudson and running through the whole period of our colonial condition. When the Hollanders settled here they were the foremost people in civilization, learning and commerce. They came here in the heroic age of their country. Holland had

maintained its independence in a contest of eighty years' duration against the power of Spain when it overshadowed and threatened the liberties of all Europe. This war with Spain excited the admiration of the world it should also excite its gratitude. It was a contest for civil and religious liberty in behalf of mankind.

As this was originally a Dutch colony, the character of that people, and their influence upon our institutions, demand particular attention. These colonists came here in the heroic age of Holland. It was the asylum for the persecuted Puritans, as of those of other creeds. Constitutional liberty was introduced into Great Britain by the revolution which placed upon the British throne the Prince of Orange, who had recently commanded the armies of Holland against those of England. The accession of the Dutch monarch essentially modified the character of the British Government, and invigorated sentiments of freedom in all of her colonies. The Hollanders not only tolerated, but invited different nationalities and creeds to their new settlement. More enlightened than their age, they had made great advances in civil and religious liberty. They rejoiced in the cosmopolitan character of their inhabitants. On the other hand, the vigor of character, the appreciation of education and religion, derived from the Puritans, are manifested in every quarter of our land, in public and private enterprises. Our people required and possess the characteristics derived from both of these sources. He who would seek to deprive the Hollanders or the Puritans of their just share of veneration is unworthy to be the descendant of either.

OUR PEOPLE.

The world has never witnessed a scene of greater moral beauty than the Bay of New York presented under the Dutch Government, and at a later day, while its just views of liberty continued to influence the community, it had founded, at a period when rights of conscience were not recognized in Europe, save in the limited territories of Holland, there were clustering around the beautiful harbor of New Amsterdam communities representing different nationalities and creeds, living in peaceful intercourse. The Hollanders and Swedes at Manhattan, the Waldenses upon Staten Island, the Walloons and English upon Long Island, and the Huguenots upon the banks of the Hudson, found here a refuge from religious persecution. What civilized Europe denied them, they sought on this spot, still shaded by primeval forests, and still made picturesque by the gliding canoe of the savage. The exiles from Piedmont, from France, from the banks of the Rhine, and from Britain, lived here in peaceful concord, as strongly in contrast with the bigotry and intolerance which prevailed elsewhere, as was their civilization and refinement to the wild scenes and savage tribes who surrounded them. At a later day the persecuted Germans from the Palatine were settled on the Mohawk. A colony of Scotch Highlanders, banished for their attachment to the Catholic religion and to the romantic fortunes of Charles Edward, found a home, not unlike their native hills and lakes, in the northern part of our State. The Irish established themselves in Otsego county, and there were settlements of French in Northern and Western New York. A small colony of Spaniards once existed near Onondaga Lake, but were destroyed by the Indians. The Welsh came to this country soon after the Revolution. Almost every European tongue has ever been spoken at the firesides of our State, and used on each returning Sabbath in offerings of prayer and praise to the God of all languages and all climes. The names, prominent in the early history of New York and the Union, represent the same number of nationalities. Schuyler was of Holland; Herkimer, of German; Jay, of French; Livingston, of Scotch; Clinton, of Irish; Morris, of Welsh; and Hoffman, of Swedish descent. Hamilton was born in one of the English West India Islands, and Baron Steuben, who became a citizen of New York, was a Prussian.

The breadth, liberality and wisdom of the first Constitution of New York and its adaptation to the wants and interests of the mixed population, not only of our State but of the Union, is due to the remarkable fact that upon the committee of thirteen appointed to draft it there were representatives of seven distinct lineages, namely: Dutch, French, Scotch, Welsh, Irish and Swiss.

FREEDOM.

Not only were the colonists of New York imbued with sentiments of freedom, but they had the earliest and most urgent occasions to assert them. Living without the protection of a charter, for a long time under the control of the private ownership of the Dutch West India Company and the Duke of York, amid the unfavorable influences of great seigniories - as early as 1690 they boldly claimed their legislative rights, and resisted "taxation without consent." The contests with the royal governors were conducted on the part of the colonists with signal ability, and their protests and arguments were pronounced by Attorney-General Randolph, of Virginia, to be the ablest expositions of the rights of popular representation. These controversies involved a wide range of discussion, and thoroughly instructed the people of the colony in the principles of constitutional liberty. The contest which commenced in New York between its legislatures and the royal governors extended to other colonies,