two. In the county of Otsego for instance, where, in 1829, Mr. Beardsley obtained more than 1,200 majority over Mr. Mumford, the anti-masonic candidate; both the sheriff and clerk supported by the anti-masons were elected. But the success of the anti-masonic candidate for sheriff was owing to some local causes and personal difficulties, and the triumph of the candidate of that party (Horace Lathrop) for clerk, was undoubtedly produced by his great and deserved personal popularity.

The Jackson party succeeded in electing their senators in all the districts except the eighth.

The senators chosen were:

From the First District, Mr. Cropsy,

Eighth do., John Birdsall.

In the assembly there was a large Jackson majority.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

POLITICAL ANTI-MASONRY.

Nor having myself been personally acquainted with the political action of the party called anti-masons, I took the liberty of requesting a gentleman, eminent, for his standing and talents, who, during the prevalence of the excitement on the subject of masonry, resided and still resides in one of our western cities, and who was himself a leading and efficient anti-mason, to furnish me with a statement which should present a sketch of the history of that singular political association. He has been so obliging as to send me the following brief account, which I here insert precisely as written out by him :

In the year 1826 an event occurred, which in its consequences, became the foundation of a new political party, based upon principles before unknown in the political history of the state, but which, in its progress, had an important influence upon its political character. It will be at once perceived that the event alluded to is the abduction of William Morgan and the new political party denominated the anti-masonic party.

It seems necessary to advert briefly to the causes of the existence of this party, and to the facts which brought it into life. On the 11th of September, 1826, William Morgan was seized, at Batavia, upon a criminal charge, by a company of men who came from Canandaigua, and carried eastward to Canandaigua as a prisoner for examination. He was acquitted of the criminal charge but was immediately arrested upon a civil process for a trifling debt.-Judgment obtained, and execution issued, and Morgan imprisoned upon such execution in the jail at

Canandaigua. The next night he was discharged from this imprisonment by those who had procured him to be arrested, and taken from the prison after 9 o'clock in the evening.

Immediately after he left the prison doors, he was seized by those who had procured his discharge, gagged, bound and thrust into a carriage in waiting for the purpose, and carried westwardly towards Rochester. It is now known that he was carried by relays of horses, and through the agency of many different individuals, in bondage and secrecy, until he was securely deposited in the magazine of Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara river. This unprecedented outrage, though committed with such boldness, was at the same time guarded by so many precautions, that it was impossible, for a long time, to penetrate the veil of secrecy with which the conspirators had concealed their movements.

The outrage itself was preceded by circumstances which, by pointing out the probable motives, directed suspicion to its probable authors. Morgan was understood to be engaged in the publication of a book professing to reveal the secrets of some of the degrees of free masonry. This contemplated publication aroused the anger of the members of the fraternity, and they were, or at least large numbers of them in the vicinity, were infatuated enough to determine to suppress that publication at all events. Previous to the violent seizure above mentioned, several forcible attempts had been ineffectually made to suppress the obnoxious forthcoming work. The citizens in the vicinity of Batavia were aware of this feeling on the part of the masons in their neighborhood, and of the unwarrantable efforts made by them to suppress the publication, and they thus had a clue to the motive for the perpetration of this foul act of violence.

As soon as they ascertained that Morgan had been thus seized by violence, and had disappeared in an unaccountable manner, after his discharge from the custody of the law, they determined, with a commendable zeal and spirit, to investigate the case, and if a crime had been committed, to hunt out its perpetrators. A committee was appointed by a public meeting, held for this purpose at Batavia, who immediately entered upon their duties by searching inquiries after Morgan, instituted at Canandaigua. They were unable to ascertain any thing further at that time, than that Morgan was discharged from his imprisonment, and immediately afterwards forcibly seized, thrust into a carriage, and driven off towards Rochester in the night time. As soon as the facts ascertained by this committee were made public, it produced no little excitement in the public mind in relation to the transaction. The facts so ascertained upon undoubted authority, proved the perpetration of a great crime, and inspired a dark and dreadful suspicion, that the crime was not unattended with the unlawful shedding of blood. The circumstances attending it, indicated an extended conspiracy, much deliberation and forethought, many agents, and a powerful motive which could impose such entire secresy upon so many actors in such extended operations. Citizens in other places, and particularly in the towns through which circumstances indicated that Morgan was carried, held similar meetings to that which had been holden at Batavia, and appointed similar committees to investigate the circumstances attending Morgan's disappearance. The simple object of all these meetings was to find out a great crime-a crime without example-committed in a community usually peaceful and obedient to the laws, and to see that the good character of that community should not suf fer a stain, nor the majesty of the laws be impaired by the continued impunity of such an aggravated crime.

There was thus early, no political object or motive which entered into the movements of the people or of their committees. The political parties in the state at that time were commonly designated as the Clintonian and Bucktail parties. At the November election, in 1826, De Witt Clinton was the candidate for governor of the former party, and William B. Rochester of the latter. Judge Rochester's friends in the west had strong confidence in his election, and the better informed of them more feared. a want of heartiness and confidence among their own political friends at the east, than they did the actual strength of the Clintonian party. The outrage was committed before the election was held, and as the public mind was very considerably excited by the pending political campaign, less attention was paid to this incident as a political matter. There were, doubtless, even at that time, some few persons in Genesee county, who believed that the masons, as a body, were implicated in the outrage, and who refused to vote for Mr. Clinton in consequence of his high masonic office; but as Judge Rochester was also a mason, though not of so elevated a grade, this feeling could hardly be brought into action effectually, and in point of fact, it is believed that it did not influence any considerable number of votes in the election of 1826. The public meetings which were held, were composed indiscriminately of members of both political parties; the committees appointed were constituted in the same way; and the object avowed was the high and praiseworthy one of investigating a crime, which had been perpetrated against the liberty, if not the life, of a fellow American citizen. In many places the masons were invited to attend the meetings, and assist in the investigation; and were told, if they wished to avert a blot from their escutchion, and protect themselves from suspicion, they should give their personal