St. Lawrence, Calvin Hulburd and George Redington; Oswego, William F. Allen and Alvan Strong.

Among the members of assembly elected in 1843 are the names of two democrats from the county of Chautauqua. As this was not a very common occurrence, perhaps I shall be pardoned for stating how the thing happened. That county, from the time the party was organized, was overwhelmingly whig. To secure a nomination from a whig convention was equivalent to an election. So extraordinary efforts were made to obtain a nomination. Office-seekers were busy for months "fixing things." I need not go into details. This sort of work has become common almost everywhere.

Well, in 1843 there was a gentleman of the name of Plumb, who desired the nomination of county clerk. He had been unfortunate in business, but was a man of brains, integrity and grit. Orrin McCluer wanted to be sheriff; he was an excellent man, but not a fighter. These gentlemen submitted their claims to the county convention; but "the machine" was too much for them. Its managers had everything their own way, as they had had in previous years. Plumb and McCluer were laid out in the convention. Then they held a council of war, Plumb being the ruling spirit. A "People's Convention" was called, to which democrats as well as disgruntled whigs were invited. It was held pursuant to notice. Plumb was nominated for clerk, and McCluer for sheriff. For the assembly, two democrats were designated and one whig. There was no difficulty in finding the democrats; but whigs were scarce who were willing to take a nomination on the bolting ticket. The position was offered to a score of persons who had for years been dying to go to the legislature, but none of them would touch it. Finally a gentleman named Waters, who had gone to Massachusetts to reside, was given the nomination, and the ticket was completed. It was a lively fight

-on the part of the whigs; and the democrats were glad to see the thing go on. Among the instrumentalities employed against the old-liners was what was called "the slate," which professed to give the nominations to be made by the whig party for several years ahead. Of course it was all guess work, but the guessing was so good that large numbers of whigs believed that such a "slate" had been arranged, and deemed it but right that it should be smashed. The "people's ticket" was chosen by sev

eral hundred majority.

There was some very extraordinary voting in the election. Plumb resided in Jamestown, as did one of the nominees for member of assembly on the regular ticket, an old lawyer and one of the most reputable men in the county. The town, which had ordinarily given the whig ticket from 200 to 300 majority, gave over 500 against it this year. In fact, the town was nearly unanimous for the bolting ticket, and the regular nominee for member received less than a hundred votes, when he should have had five or six hundred. So disgusted was he that

on the morning after the election he called at the office of his newspaper and ordered it discontinued, declaring that, judging from the vote he had received, his townsmen must regard him as "no better than a common thief!"

The whig who had removed from the state did not learn of his nomination until after his election. In January he came on to Albany, and remained during the winter, and then went back to Massachusetts. He never returned to Chautauqua county to reside.

CHAPTER XIV.

Election in 1844-The Canvass for President-Van Buren ShelvedAdoption of the Two-thirds Rule-James K. Polk Nominated.-Nomination of Wright for Governor--His Speeches in the Campaign— General Nye on the Stump-Description of the Man and His Style of Speaking.

Politically speaking, the year 1844 was an exciting one. Up to the meeting of the democratic national convention, in May, the friends of Mr. Van Buren entertained strong hopes of his nomination. His own state was solidly and tenaciously for him in the convention. His friends had control of "the machine," and they spared no effort to make him the candidate. They may have supposed that he would be chosen if nominated, or they may have preferred defeat with him to success with some other man. Meantime, there was a large element in the party that questioned the policy of his nomination, doubting if he would be elected if nominated. It was made up of men who wanted to win. They had no objection to Mr. Van Buren, but, remembering his crushing defeat in 1840, and knowing that the whigs were prepared to employ the same weapon that had proved so effective in that year, they deemed it an act of prudence to let him stand aside, and to bring into the field some one against whom little could be said. These men were busy for months, and when the convention met they used whatever influence they possessed to effect their purpose. The convention, when it assembled, was for Mr. Van Buren. This fact was known. So before the convention came to a vote, it took the precaution to pass a resolution, 148 to 116, requiring the nominee to have two-thirds of all the votes

cast to entitle him to a nomination. This "cooked Mr. Van Buren's goose." When the voting commenced he had a clear majority over all. The first ballot stood: For Van Buren...

146

.130

16

Van Buren's majority.

On the next ballot Van Buren's vote fell to 127, and finally ran down to 99. His most formidable competitor was General Cass, who received 123 votes on the eighth ballot; yet it was evident that none of the candidates voted for could command the required two-thirds vote.

Great excitement prevailed in the convention; the twothirds rule was vigorously protested against by a delegate from Ohio, after which an adjournment was had to enable the convention to cool off.

On the following morning James K. Polk was developed as a candidate, and on the second ballot received a unanimous nomination at the hands of the convention.

This same rule has been adhered to by the democracy ever since, I believe, and shows how completely subservient the party is to the south and all its requirements. Had the slave oligarchy insisted that the nominee should receive a unanimous nomination, would the northern democracy have rebelled?

The selection of Mr. Polk was regarded as a happy one by the great body of the party; and one of the liveliest campaigns followed that I have ever witnessed. The democrats now assumed the offensive, and waged a very aggressive fight. They charged their opponents with breaking all their promises, knowing perfectly well that John Tyler had put it out of their power to keep them had they been ever so much inclined. The brilliant Clay was the candidate of the whig party, and both he and his friends felt that it was "now or never" with them, and they made a tremendous fight. There was song-singing

during this campaign, but both parties engaged in it. Both parties did their utmost to stir up their friends to action. The whigs planted themselves squarely in favor of the doctrine of protection, and declared against the annexation of Texas. The democrats took the other side, and the issues were more thoroughly discussed than they are apt to be in our campaigns. Of course there was a good deal of blackguard, but there was also solid argument. Some doubt was felt as to how New York might vote, in consequence of which Silas Wright, jr., who then represented the state in the United States senate, was prevailed upon to accept a nomination for governor, and during the summer and fall he addressed large audiences in various portions of the state, confining himself chiefly to the discussion of the tariff question. There are those living who well remember his speech in Watertown. Mr. Wright was not an orator in the common acceptation of the word, but his style of argument was plain and truthful and such as to carry conviction. He wielded immense power with an audience. His candidature for governor and his speeches on the tariff question did more to save the state and secure the election of Mr. Polk than anything else.

Three times within my memory the tariff question has occupied a prominent place in the issues of the campaign, to wit: in 1832, when Mr. Clay ran against General Jackson; in 1844, when the same gentleman was in nomination against Mr. Polk; and in 1884, when Mr. Blaine was the republican nominee in opposition to Mr. Cleveland. The result in these different campaigns has been the same : the champion of protection has been defeated. I make no comment upon the facts, but leave them to speak for themselves. [This was written in 1885.]

It was during this campaign of 1844 that I made the acquaintance of General James W. Nye, one of the most gifted orators the state has ever produced. I have heard