128 POLITICAL LIFE-V 



body and requested my acceptance of the election. No- 

 thing has ever been tendered me which I have felt to be a 

 greater honor. 



A month later, on the 28th of August, 1866, began at 

 Albany what has been very rare in the history of New 

 York, a special session of the State Senate: in a sense, 

 a court of impeachment. 



Its purpose was to try the county judge of Oneida for 

 complicity in certain illegal proceedings regarding boun- 

 ties. "Bounty jumping " had become a very serious evil, 

 and it was claimed that this judicial personage had con- 

 nived at it. 



I must confess that, as the evidence was developed, my 

 feelings as a man and my duties as a sworn officer of 

 the State were sadly at variance. It came out that this 

 judge was endeavoring to support, on the wretched sal- 

 ary of $1800 a year allowed by the county, not only 

 his own family, but also the family of his brother, who, if 

 I remember rightly, had lost his life during the war, and 

 it seemed to me a great pity that, as a penalty upon the 

 people of the county, he could not be quartered upon them 

 as long as he lived. For they were the more culpable 

 criminals. Belonging to one of the richest divisions of 

 the State, with vast interests at stake, they had not been 

 ashamed to pay a judge this contemptible pittance, and 

 they deserved to have their law badly administered. This 

 feeling was undoubtedly wide-spread in the Senate ; but, 

 on the other hand, there was the duty we were sworn to 

 perform, and the result was that the judge was removed 

 from office. 



During this special session of the State Senate it was 

 entangled in a curious episode of national history. The 

 new President, Mr. Andrew Johnson, had been induced to 

 take an excursion into the north and especially into the 

 State of New York. He was accompanied by Mr. Seward, 

 the Secretary of State; General Grant, with his laurels 

 fresh from the Civil War; Admiral Farragut, who had 

 so greatly distinguished himself during the same epoch, 



