Page images
PDF
EPUB

appointed to settle the accounts would be able to select enough to balance the State's claim against him. On account of the position now held by Mr. Tompkins, and his services during the war, and the very high regard for him, there was every disposition to look upon his financial discrepancies as being accidental and unintentional, which was mainly true, no doubt; and one of his accounts of a million dollars, money obtained on his personal responsibility and appropri ated to current expenses of the war, was selected and such a commission allowed on that as would liquidate the balance of the $120,000 due from him to the State. But when this matter was presented to the comptroller, it had been ascertained that the difference between current money and United States treasury stocks and notes at the close of the war was 25 per cent instead of 12 per cent, as the friends of the measures to relieve the Governor, had contemplated. This would put the State in debt to him over a hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, while it was only designed to balance his loose accounts. The comptroller resisted, and indeed, proved to be averse to the whole scheme, which he tried to defeat by a close construction of the act of the Legislature, Where the bill said "on his personal responsibility, the comptroller construed this to mean when no

pledge of the State was jointly given, and so the prospect Iwas that little was likely to appear for the benefit

of the Governor.

as

McIntyre, the comptroller, finally offered to submit the dispute to one of four or five judicial umpires, to the correctness of his decision, but Tompkins clined to submit to any thing of the sort, and it

de

was

found that no settlement was possible. Mr. Tompkins then proposed to the comptroller that he should be allowed twenty-five thousand dollars and his accounts with the State balanced. But this proposition the comptroller could not accept. Soon afterwards, in the fall of 1819, the comptroller published a detailed statement of the whole case, and to this the Vice-President replied in a most eloquent and able manner. papers were, of course, spread throughout the State, and it is supposed that Martin Van Buren had some hand in writing the brilliant responses of the Governor.

These

In January, 1820, the Legislature met again. The comptroller presented his history of the Tompkins case, and in March the House passed a resolution approving the course he had taken.

Early in the session Mr. Van Buren brought the matter before the Senate. The result of this was a report early in March, from the committee of which Van Buren was chairman, that the 12 per cent on a million dollars should have been allowed Mr. Tompkins, and this would have liquidated the State's claim against him, and left a balance of over $11,000 in his favor. Mr. Van Buren made one of his most considerable speeches in support of a bill to this effect, which did pass in the Senate by a large majority.

In April this bill was taken up in the House, and defeated by a large majority, that body substituting in its stead one authorizing the comptroller to proceed against Mr. Tompkins as other debtors of the State, but allowing him the benefits of the bill of the spring of 1819, according to his construction.

This ended the matter in the Legislature. But one thing appears to be quite evident, that although it was

designed to make great political capital out of this
affair, as long as it was of advantage to do so, none
of the factions believed Tompkins was willfully a de-
faulter, or that he had had the remotest idea of defraud-
ing the country, and all would have been willing for
a line to be drawn across his accounts.
The race for
the governorship was a hot and close one, but Clinton
was successful by over a thousand votes.

Al

Tompkins was now glad to be taken up with Mr. Monroe for re-election to the Vice-Presidency. though he was not supported with the unanimity which marked the election of Mr. Monroe at this time, his majority was larger than it had been in 1816. As Vice-President he was acceptable to the country, he had reached the highest attainable point in the public patronage, and with the expiration of his second term of the Vice-Presidency, March 4, 1825, his public

career ended.

but

In 1821, Mr. Tompkins was elected from Richmond County as a member of the convention to amend and revise the constitution of New York, which sorely needed remodeling. On the 28th of August the convention assembled at Albany, and Tompkins was chosen president by the support of 94 of the 110 delegates. Early in November the work of the convention completed, and given to the people with an address signed by the president. Although Mr. Tompkins took little part in the work of the convention, he was highly complimented for his good conduct and an

agement as presiding officer.

This was Mr. Tompkins's last political service in the State, although he would have been glad to receive the nomination for governor in 1822. But there

seemed to be a general disposition to drop him, and his party did not seriously consider it advisable to go against this disposition. After his second election to the Vice-Presidency, he himself really abandoned all hope of further political advancement. His health failed, he fell into evil habits, and these, with his pecuniary embarrassments, destroyed his happiness. His manly and moral powers became weak; and, soon after the end of his Vice-Presidency, this brilliant and warm-hearted man fell a victim to the infernal wrecker, strong drink, at the early age of fifty-one.

on Staten Island, June 11, 1825.

He died.

CHAPTER XXI.

FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE_THE SEDITION LAW OF 1798
MAINTAINED-TREATY WITH SPAIN.

A

Not

the

FTER returning from "Oak Hill," as his home in Loudon County, Virginia, was called, where he had spent the summer months after the adjournment of Congress, Mr. Monroe at once set about preparing his message. This was done in the usual way. unfrequently he asked Mr. Adams to make up outline of an article he had suggested, but generally he wrote himself and then submitted the views of his message to revision in the Cabinet meeting. On the 13th of November, 1820, Congress again assembled for the short term ending on the 3d of March, 1821. Mr. Clay, who was detained at home on

private business, did not reach Washington to take his seat in Congress until the 16th of January, 1821. He had accordingly sent notice of his resignation as Speaker of the House. The first three days of the session were mainly occupied in choosing his successor.

The

con

test was between John W. Taylor, of New York. William Lowndes, of South Carolina, Samuel Smith, of Maryland, Republicans, and John Sergeant, Federalist,

of Pennsylvania. The first two days were

spent in

unsuccessful balloting, each of the three Republicans often having a plurality of votes. Finally, by some

favorable combinations, on the third morning,

Mr.

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »