564 



NEW YORK. 



peated and hitherto uniformly proposed, congratu- 

 late the country upon the general favor to which they 

 have attained, and believing that, if not entirely, yet 

 they are substantially recognized by both the Dem- 

 ocratic and Eepublican parties of the State, do not 

 think it necessary or useful to nominate a State 

 ticket. They do therefore recommend to the Liberal 

 and independent voters of the State to support those 

 candidates already in nomination, whose character 

 and experience they most approve and who, in their 

 judgment, will earnestly and efficiently _ cooperate 

 with Governor Tilden in his work of administrative 

 reform. 



Other resolutions, in favor of consolidating 

 with the Democratic party, were rejected. 



The election was held on the 2d of Novem- 

 ber, and the Democratic candidates were 

 chosen. The total vote for Secretary of State 

 was 777,663, of which John Bigelow received 

 390,211, F. W. Seward 375,401, and George 

 B. Dusenberre, Prohibitory candidate, 11,103; 

 Bigelow's plurality over Seward, 14,810; ma- 

 jority, 3,707. The vote for Controller was 

 389,699 forEobinson, 376,150 for Spinner, and 

 10,614 for A. A. Hopkins: total, 773,213; 

 Eobinson's plurality, 13,549 ; majority, 2,935. 

 The Legislature of 1876 consists of 20 Repub- 

 licans and 12 Democrats in the Senate, and 71 

 Republicans and 57 Democrats in the Assem- 

 bly, making the Republican majority 8 in the 

 Senate, 14 in the Assembly, and 20 on a joint 

 ballot. 



JOHN BIGELOW, the new Secretary of State, 

 was born in Maiden, Ulster County, Novem- 

 ber, 1817, and was graduated at Union College 

 in 1835. He studied law with Robert Sedg- 

 wick, and was admitted to the New York bar 

 in 1858, but soon united literary work with 

 his professional pursuits. In 1840 he was 

 literary editor of the Plebeian, and was for 

 several years a regular contributor to the 

 Democratic Review. In 1845 he was appoint- 

 ed one of three inspectors of the State-pris- 

 on at Sing Sing, and held the position two 

 years, after which the inspectors were elected 

 by the people. He made a trip to the West 

 Indies in January, 1850, and on his return 

 published a volume entitled "Jamaica in 1850." 

 The same year he became part owner of the 

 New York Evening Post, and had an editorial 

 connection with that journal during the next 

 ten years. Under the Administration of Presi- 

 dent Lincoln he was offered the position of 

 consul at Paris, and was for three years con- 

 nected with the legation at the French capital 

 under Minister William L. Dayton. On the 

 death of Mr. Dayton, in December, 1864, he 

 became charge d'affaires, and on the assembling 

 of the Thirty-eighth Congress was confirmed 

 as minister. He held the position until the ap- 

 pointment of General Dix by President John- 

 son in 1866. In the mean time he had disposed 

 of his interest in the Evening Post, and on his 

 return to America devoted himself to general 

 literary labor The study of the life and ser- 

 vices of the first American minister to France, 

 Benjamin Franklin, had engaged his attention 

 while abroad, and he had the good fortune to 



secure the original manuscript of Franklin's 

 memoir, parts of his correspondence during his 

 stay in France, and his portrait, painted by 

 Duplessis. A series of magazine articles was 

 the earliest public announcement of his dis- 

 coveries, and at a later date the collection was 

 published in the form of an autobiography of 

 Franklin. During his stay in Paris Mr. Bigelow 

 published there " Les fitats-Unis d'Amerique," 

 and he had previously added to his published 

 works a " Life of Fremont." Shortly after the 

 death of Henry J. Raymond, he was called to 

 the management of the New York Times, a 

 position he held but a short time. Soon after 

 he left bis residence at Highland Falls, Orange 

 County, N. Y., and passed some time in Berlin. 

 Shortly after his return he was appointed one 

 of the commissioners to represent the State at 

 the Centennial Exposition, a position he de- 

 voted much time to till his appointment, April 

 7, 1875, on the Canal Investigating Commis- 

 sion. Upon the assembling of that board he 

 was elected its president. 



The Commission of Appeals which was 

 created in 1870, to assist the Court of Appeals 

 in disposing of accumulated business, ceased 

 to exist on the 1st of July. During the five 

 years of its existence it had about one thousand 

 cases assigned to it. Its decisions are com- 

 prised in six volumes of reports. The com- 

 mission, as at first constituted, consisted of 

 John A. Lott, chief-commissioner, Ward Hunt, 

 Robert Earl, Hiram Gray, and William H. 

 Leonard. Commissioner Leonard resigned in 



1872, and John H. Reynolds was appointed to 

 fill the place ; Commissioner Hunt resigned in 



1873, to take a place on the Federal bench, and 

 Alexander S. Johnson was appointed to the va- 

 cancy ; Mr. Johnson was appointed a Judge of 

 the Court of Appeals late in the same year, and 

 his place was filled by Theodore W. Dwight. 



Judge Alexander S. Johnson, who was de- 

 feated for reelection to the bench of the Court 

 of Appeals in 1874, by his Democratic op- 

 ponent, has been appointed United States Cir- 

 cuit Judge to fill the vacancy caused by the 

 death of Judge Woodruff. He is a native of 

 Utica, fifty-seven years of age, and was a Judge 

 of the Court of Appeals from 1852 to 1860. 

 In the latter year he was a Democratic candi- 

 date for the office, and was defeated. In 1873 

 he was appointed Commissioner of Appeals by 

 Governor Dix, in place of Judge Hunt, and the 

 same year Judge of the Court of Appeals, to 

 succeed Judge Peckham, deceased; and was 

 defeated in 1874 as a Republican candidate. 



Robert Earl was appointed Judge of the 

 Court of Appeals in November, to fill the 

 vacancy caused by the death of Martin Grover. 

 He was elected to the bench of the same court 

 in 1869, but by the reorganization under the 

 new constitution was transferred to the Com- 

 mission of Appeals, on which he served through- 

 out with great ability. 



Judge Gilbert, of the Supreme Court in Brook- 

 lyn, rendered a decision in September denying 



