"But this limitation of the number of the said justices, shall not take effect until their number shall be reduced to three, by death, resignation, the constitutional limitation of their term, or removals from office; and that until such reduction is made, the said justices shall continue to hold the sittings and circuits in such counties as may be prescribed by law."

The vote on this question may be regarded as affording a true test of the feelings of the members, either for or against the judges; and the result shows that a large majority of the convention were against them, at any rate, that a large majority were for subjecting them to the ordeal of the appointing power. Mr. Duer, though opposed to the project of General Carpenter, made a brief speech in opposition to this amendment. It was rejected by a vote of sixty-six to thirty-nine. I observe that Van Buren, Dodge, N. Sanford, Sharpe and Yates, all prominent democrats, voted for Mr. Wheaton's amendment, and of course, for retaining the judges.

The question was then taken on the whole proposition of Mr. Carpenter, and it was adopted, as follows:

AYES-Messrs. Barlow, Birdseye, Briggs, Brinkerhoff, Brooks, Burroughs, Carpenter, Carver, Case, Child, D. Clark, R. Clarke, Cramer, Dubois, Eastwood, Fenton, Ferris, Frost, Hogeboom, Howe, Humphrey, Hunt, Hunting, Hurd, Knowles, Lansing, A. Livingston, P. R. Livingston, Moore, Nelson, Park, Pike, Pitcher, Price, Pumpelly, Radcliff, Reeve, Richards, Roswell, Root, Rosebrugh, Ross, Russell, R. Sandford, Schenck, Seely, Sheldon, Starkweather, Steele, Swift, Taylor, Townley, Townsend, Tripp, Tuttle, Van Fleet, A. Webster, E. Webster, Wheeler, N. Williams, Wooster and Youngsixty-two.

NOES-Messrs. Bacon, Baker, Beckwith, Breese, Buel, Clyde, Collins, Dodge, Duer, Dyckman, Edwards, Fairlie,

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Fish, Hallock, Hunter, Huntington, Jay, Jones, King, Lawrence, Lefferts, McCall, Millikin, Monroe, Paulding, Porter, Rhinelander, Rogers, Rose, Sage, Sanders, N. Sanford, Seaman, Sharpe, I. Smith, R. Smith, Stagg, I.. Sutherland, Sylvester, Tallmadge, Ten Eyck, Van Buren, Van Horne, J. R. Van Rennsselaer, Van Vechten, Verbryck, Ward, Wendover, Wheaton, E. Williams, Woods, Woodward, and Yates-fifty-three.

This vote settled this great question, and it only remained to fix on the details, which were mere matters of form and soon arranged.

There was yet another great and important subject which engrossed much of the attention, and excited the action of the convention. This was the power of appointing to office, and the manner of exercising it.

The committee, to whom the part of the constitution relating to that subject was referred, of which Mr. Van Buren was chairman, reported, on the 17th day of September:

That the council of appointment should be abolished; that all militia officers, with the exception of major generals and the adjutant general, should be elected by persons subject to perform military duty; that most of the state officers, such as the comptroller, the secretary of state, the surveyor general, &c., should be appointed by the two houses of the legislature, in the manner senators of the United States were appointed; that the governor should nominate, and by the consent of the senate, appoint all judicial officers, (except justices of the peace, who were to be chosen by the people,) and sheriffs of counties; that clerks of courts should be appointed by the courts of which they were clerks; and that no judicial officer should be removed, except by the majority of the senate, upon the recommendation of the governor, setting forth the cause of the removal.

From a schedule annexed to the report, it appeared there were eight thousand two hundred and eighty-seven military, and six thousand six hundred and sixty-three civil officers, then in the state, who received their offices by the appointment of the council of appointment.

The convention, on the first day of October, resolved itself into a committee of the whole on this report.

Before discussing the plan recommended by the select committee, the convention, without debate, resolved unanimously, one hundred and two members being present, that the council of appointment ought to be abolished.

Mr. Van Buren then stated the grounds upon which the committee had founded their report. He said,

"The first question which presented itself for the consideration of the committee, was the propriety of abolishing the council of appointment. On this subject there was no difficulty; the same unanimity prevailed among the members of the select committee in this respect, as in the vote which had just passed in committee of the whole, for the abolition of this power; and in this, they had only acted in accordance with public opinion, by which this feature of the old constitution had been condemned. would not, he said, detain the committee by giving any reasons for this part of the report; after the unanimous vote just given, this would be a wanton waste of time.

He

"The next and more important enquiry, was, with respect to what should be substituted in its stead; and here, as was to be expected, a diversity of sentiment prevailed, and many difficulties presented themselves. For the purpose, however, of lessening, as far as was practicable, the objections that would necessarily exist to any general appointing power, wherever placed, or however constituted, they had felt the propriety of reducing the patronage attached to it; and they had, with that view, separated

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from it the great mass of the officers of the state. Many of them they had sent to be appointed, or elected, in the several counties or towns, and others they had left to the disposition of the legislature, to provide for their appointment or election, as experience might prove to be most advisable.

"Of the eight thousand two hundred and eighty-seven military officers, they had recommended that all, except seventy-eight, consisting of major generals, brigadier generals, and the adjutant general, should be elected by the privates and officers of the militia.

"Of the six thousand six hundred and sixty-three civil officers now appointed by the council of appointment, they recommend that three thousand six hundred and forty-three should be appointed or elected as the legislature should direct-these were auctioneers, masters in chancery, public notaries, inspectors of turnpike roads, commissioners to acknowledge deeds, examiners in chancery, inspectors for commercial purposes, and some other officers. They also recommend that the clerks of courts, and district attorneys, should be appointed by the courts of common pleas, in the several counties. And that the mayors and clerks, of all the cities, except New-York, should be appointed by the common council of the respective cities.

"Thus far, no great diversity of sentiment had existed among the members of the committee, and there had been a general concurrence of opinion on all the parts of the report already noticed.

"This, together with the justices of the peace, which a majority of the committee had recommended to be elected, left only four hundred and fifty-three officers for whose appointment, or election, it was necessary to provide.

"In addition to the curtailment of the appointing power, to be retained at the seat of government, the committee, under a full conviction that much of the complaint against

the existing council of appointment had arisen from the circumstance of the concentration of power in one body, had thought it wise even here to distribute them; by giving the appointment of the heads of the different departments of this state to the legislature; they being officers entrusted with the public property, whose duties more immediately connected them with that body.

"Still, some officers were left; small in number, it was true, but of considerable interest and importance. They were unanimously of opinion that it would be improper for some of these officers to be elected by the people, and a majority of them supposed that none of them ought to be so elected.

"It became necessary, therefore, to provide for their appointment; and to establish what may be called a general appointing power; though limited in the exercise of its functions to the bestowment of a small number of offi

ces.

"Four plans presented themselves to the consideration of the committee.

"1st. To create a new council of appointment, to be elected by the people.

"2nd. To vest the power of appointment in the executive solely.

"3rd. To give it to the legislature. Or,

"4th. To the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate.

"These respective modes had been, he said, discussed and attentively considered by them. The project of electing a council, was thought liable to most of the objections which had been urged against the old council. There would be a want of responsibility, as now. And it was apprehended that their election would create a great excitement. The incumbents in office, and those desirous of obtaining offices, together with their respective friends,