NEW YORK. 



569 



ture, as in the past, so act as to protect the best inter- 

 ests of the laboring-man. 



Resolved, That we arraign and condemn successive 

 "Republican Legislatures, especially the last, for their 

 inconsiderate passage of acts affecting the public Treas- 

 ury, by which, had they not been defeated by the 

 wise action of the Democratic Executive, the continu- 

 ance of an onerous State tax would have been a neces- 

 sity ; and we approve and commend Governor Mc- 

 Clellan for withholding his approval of such acts. 



Resolved, That we emphatically condemn the Ee- 

 publican system of management of the State finances, 

 by which a loss of more than fifty thousand dollars 

 occurred by the defalcation of a Eepublican State 

 Treasurer, covering a period of several years, and of 

 a further loss of more than forty thousand dollars by 

 the failure of two banks, in which a Republican Treas- 

 urer had, in his own discretion, deposited the public 

 funds. 



In the State election Ludlow received 121,- 

 666 votes; Potts, 121,015; Hoxsey, Green- 

 back candidate, 2,759; and Ramson, Prohibi- 

 tion candidate, 195 electing Ludlow Governor 

 by a plurality vote over the Republican can- 

 didate of 651. The Presidential vote was 122,- 

 565 for the Hancock electors, 120,555 for the 

 Garfield electors, 2,617 for the Weaver elec- 

 tors, and 191 for the Dow electors giving 

 Hancock's electors the plurality of 2,010. 



NEW YORK. The annual session of the 

 Legislature of New York began on the 6th of 

 January, and came to a close on the 27th of 

 May. Among the minor incidents of the ses- 

 sion was the appointment by the Governor and 

 the confirmation by the Senate of Silas B. Butch- 

 er as Superintendent of Public Works ; and 

 the election, in joint session of the two Houses, 

 of Neil Gilmour as Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction. The reappointment by Govern- 

 or Cornell of John F. Smyth to be Superin- 

 tendent of the Insurance Department excited 

 a lively spirit of opposition in the Senate. 

 Mr. Smyth's official course had been the sub- 

 ject of serious criticism and accusation, and an 

 unsuccessful attempt to remove him from office 

 had been made. His course as the leader of 

 the Republican organization in the city of Al- 

 bany had also occasioned some division in the 

 party. The character of the opposition evoked 

 by his reappointment led to the withdrawal 

 of his name, and the substitution of that of 

 Charles G. Fairman, who was promptly con- 

 firmed. 



The death of Chief-Justice Sanford E. 

 Church, of the Court of Appeals, which took 

 place at Albion on the 14th of May, was an- 

 nounced to the Legislature by an Executive 

 message on the 17th. In communicating the 

 intelligence of this event, the Governor said : 



For nearly forty years Judge Church has been a 

 conspicuous figure in the public affairs of the_State. 

 Possessing superior ability and untiring devotion to 

 duty, combined with high' character and unquestioned 

 integrity, he early secured the confidence of the peo- 

 ple, and maintained it throughout his long and eventful 

 career. Positive, fearless, and consistent in his politi- 

 cal course, and faithful to those who shared his views, 

 he merited and enjoyed the favor of his party in a re- 

 markable degree. In official service his record is an 

 enviable one. As member of the Assembly, District 

 Attorney, Lieutenant- Governor, Comptroller, member 



of the Constitutional Convention, and Chief Judge 

 of the Court of Appeals, he acquitted himself with 

 unusual credit. In every capacity or association he 

 uniformly proved himself to be a leader of men. At 

 the bar, in the councils of his party, and in all delib- 

 erative bodies, he occupied a place in the front rank, 

 wielding an influence inferior to none, and equaled 

 by few. In social life, his genial manners made him 

 always a welcome guest, while the purity of his pri- 

 vate life and the happiness of his domestic relations 

 present a symmetry of character and an example 

 worthy of emulation. 



Called by the people to preside over our highest 

 court just ten years ago to-day, Judge Church dis- 

 charged his great trust with eminent success and fidel- 

 ity. His former partisanship caused him, perhaps, in 

 the beginning to be distrusted by many of opposite 

 political opinions, but his impartiality and patriotic 

 bearing soon dispelled every doubt ; and it can now 

 be truthfully said that never in the history of our 

 State has the Appellate Court enjoyed the confidence 

 of the people in a higher degree than during the pe- 

 riod of his service as the presiding Judge. 



The following commemorative record was 

 unanimously adopted, after eulogistic remarks 

 by several members, in the Assembly : 



We, the representatives of the people of this State, 

 bow with submission, but with deep sorrow, to the 

 sad and sudden bereavement occasioned by the death 

 of Sanford E. Church. A profound and able .jurist 

 as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, his decisions 

 challenge and receive the approbation of all men. As 

 a statesman his record as legislator, Lieutenant Govern- 

 or, Comptroller, and head of the Finance Committee 

 of the last Constitutional Convention is a bright and 

 enduring monument to his skill, energy, foresight, 

 unquestioned ability, and above all, to his great pu- 

 rity of thought and action. In his daily contact with 

 his fellow-men, dignity was not lowered by his unre- 

 strained intercourse with the humblestj nor was it 

 elevated by his acknowledged equality in all things 

 with the most refined and intelligent in the land. 

 Socially he was loved by all, and in that nearer and 

 closer intimacy of his family circle his example as 

 a loving husband, a kind, indulgent, but judicious 

 father, can well be followed by all. In his conduct 

 and character we can mark this phase of life not the 

 least of his many virtues. 



We tender to his stricken family the only sympathy 

 in our power. The State and the nation arc with you 

 mourners at the bier of this great and good man. 



Our Speaker will name on the part of our body five 

 of our number, who will represent us at the funeral, 

 and we request the Clerk to cause this memorial to be 

 properly engrossed and presented to the family of our 

 departed friend. 



Eulogies were also pronounced in the Sen- 

 ate, and that body appointed a committee of 

 three to act with that designated by the As- 

 sembly. In the Court of Appeals, at the first 

 meeting after the death of the Chief-Justice, 

 the session of the day was devoted to tributes 

 to his character and worth by his former as- 

 sociates, and an adjournment of one week was 

 taken out of respect for his memory. ^ 



Two important subjects of legislation occu- 

 pied a large share of attention during the ses- 

 sion, though with unsatisfactory results. These 

 were the revision of the laws relating to assess- 

 ment and taxation, and the regulation of rail- 

 roads. There had long been great dissatisfac- 

 tion with the inequalities of taxation in the 

 State, the small share of the burden borne by 

 corporations, the escape of personal property 



