52 
took a very distinguished and active part. He opened the; 
debates with a most able and eloquent speech, in which he 
earnestly advocated the ratification of the proposed constitu¬ 
tion ; and it may be safely asserted, that, had it not been for 
his efforts, united to those of Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Jay, 
this important state 'would have withheld its agreement to 
the present happy constitution of the country. But the 
mighty efforts and the commanding eloquence of these gen¬ 
tlemen, gained such a powerful ascendancy over the mem¬ 
bers of this convention, that two-thirds of that body, who had 
been instructed by their constituents to vote against the con¬ 
stitution, and who came with that purpose, were at the final 
vote dwindled into a minority ; and New-York was the 
eleventh state, incorporated into the federal union. 
The 30th of April, in the succeeding year, is one of the 
most remarkable epochs of American history. Washington 
had been unanimously elected to the presidency, and had 
come to New-York to assume the first office in the gift of his 
country or the world. And let it not be deemed too trivial 
a circumstance to be noticed among the great events of the 
Chancellor’s life, that he was called upon on that occasion 
to administer the oath. He stood the minister of our holy- 
religion, to receive the vows of Washington to God and to 
his country ; and when at the conclusion of the solemn 
ceremony, he pronounced “ Long live George Washing¬ 
ton,” he was the High Priest of America, and the Prophet 
of God ; offering up at the same instant, the united prayer of 
three millions of people, and declaring an infallible oracle 
of heaven, “ that Washington should for ever live in the 
hearts of his countrymen.” 
It was that day, distinguished above every other, by these 
events which brought the revolution to a close, and establish¬ 
ed this government on a solid, and, until the sins of the peo¬ 
ple shall undermine it, an imperishable foundation. 
From this time, Chancellor Livingston devoted himself 
to the direction of the court of chancery of this state, the 
duties of which had now become extremely arduous, and so 
