approached the landing, a salute of 24 rounds was fired. The people of the town and surrounding country had turned out en masse to greet the loved hero. Two lines were formed, extending from Rawling's hotel to the river. Down this passed the committees of reception, town officials, and other dignitaries, and received the nation's guest, who with the distinguished party accompanying him, passed up the line, the citizens standing uncovered in perfect silence, until his arrival at the door of the hotel, where a large number of ladies were assembled. Here an address of affectionate welcome was delivered by Judge James Hall. LaFayette replied without preparation, in a voice tremulous with emotion, thanking the people for this evidence of their love and gratitude. A collation was then partaken of, followed by a number of toasts suitable to the occasion. After spending a few hours in pleasant converse, the general was conducted back to the steamer, when he took a most affectionate leave. A salute was fired at the departure. The general appeared much worn with the fatigue of his trip. Governor Coles quitted him at Shawneetown, and proceeded by land to Vandalia.

CHAPTER XXIX.

1826-30-ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR EDWARDS. Campaign of 1826-The Gubernatorial Candidates-Contest between Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress-Character of Gov. Edwards' speeches-His charges against the State Bank officers and result of the inquiry into their conduct-Repeal of the Circuit Court system-Gov. Edwards claims for the State title to all public lands within her limits.

At the general election of August, 1826, there were three gubernatorial candidates in the field: Ninian Edwards, Thomas C. Sloe, and Adolphus Frederick Hubbard. The latter was at the time lieutenant-governor. That he was ambitious to become governor, we have seen in his attempt to superede Gov. Coles, failing in which he now sought that distinction, as was more becoming, directly from the hands of the people. "As a picture of the times," Gov. Coles gives the following morceau, from Hubbard's speeches to his constitutents: "Fellow citizens, I offer myself as a candidate before you, for the office of governor. I do not pretend to be a man of extraordinary talents; nor do I claim to be equal to Julius Cæsar or Napoleon Bonaparte, nor yet to be as great a man as my opponent, Gov. Edwards. Nevertheless, I think I can govern you pretty well. I do not think it will require a very extraordinary smart man to govern you; for to tell you the truth, fellow-citizens, I do not think you will be very hard to govern, no how." He was an oddity.

The contest lay between Sloe and Edwards. Sloe was a gentleman of good sense and capacity, whose business was merchandising. He had been much in public life, and as a member of the legislature time and again had wielded a large influence as a practical worker in that body. In deportment, he was dignified and urbane, but had not cultivated the art of public speaking, in which Edwards, an Apollo Belvedere in form and Titan in intellect, had quite the advantage of him.

"Edwards," says Gov. Ford, "was a large, well made man, with a noble, princely appearance," who "never condescended to the common low arts of electioneering. Whenever he went out among the people he arrayed himself in the style of a gentleman of the olden time, dressed in fine broadcloth, with short breeches, long stockings, and high, fair-topped boots; was drawn in a finé carriage driven by a negro; and for success he relied upon his speeches, which were delivered with great pomp and in a style of diffuse and florid eloquence. When he was inaugurated in

1826, he appeared before the general assembly wearing a golden laced cloak, and with great pomp he pronounced his first message to the houses of the legislature."

For the office of lieutenant-governor there were but two candidates-Hubbard being without an associate. They were William Kinney and Samuel H. Thompson, and what may appear a little singular at this day, both were ministers of the gospel, the former a Baptist, the latter a Methodist. Kinney was one of the old pioneers, having emigrated to Illinois with his father in 1797.

He possessed naturally a good mind, but had recieved no education, until after marriage, when his wife taught him its rudiments. He had been much in public life, and was an efficient and untiring canvasser. In the convention contest, he had been unceasing in his efforts to render it a success. He was wealthy, and in a political canvass the duties of his holy calling were not a stumbling block in his way. The Rev. Mr. Thompson, his opponent, while he was his superior in scholastic attainments, had not his knowledge of men, nor his political art. This was his virgin effort to attain honors which perish. His character was irreproachable and forbade him to engage in any electioneering conduct to sully it. His candidacy was distasteful to him. The result of the secular contest between these two of the sacred cloth, was the reverse of that for governor. The Rev. Mr. Kinney, although running on the Sloe ticket, which failed, was elected by a small majority.

There was however, a more important contest connected with the election of 1826, in a political point of view, thau that for the office of governor. We allude to the race for congress between Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan, which marked the beginning of party principles, instead of mere local, personal scrambles for office. To help our understanding we must take a short view of national affairs.

Out of the presidential contest of 1824, grew the parties known afterwards as the whig and democratic. The election had failed before the people, and the house of representatives, in disregard of the will of the people, chose the one who had received next to the highest number of electoral votes, Mr. Adams. Mr. Clay accepted the highest position in the cabinet, but Mr. Crawford refused office under the new administration. Some bitterness of feeling sprang up between Mr. Clay and Gen. Jackson, the former having written a letter in which he deprecated the election of a "military chieftian" to the high office of president, which was thought to reflect upon the latter. A coalition of the Clay and Adams men followed, and as Jackson had received a plurality of electoral votes, more than double those of Crawford, and as he further, through the nomination of the legislature of Tennessee, directly became a candidate again for the same position, it became evident at an early day, that the next contest would lie between him and Mr. Adams. The friends of Mr. Crawford, therefore gave in their adhesion to the Jackson party, as by so doing, was there any hope of defeating Adams. Party principles did not as yet obtain; indeed Jackson had voted, while in the senate, with Adams and Clay, and supported affirmatively 8 different bills providing for internal improvements by the general government, and also the tariff of 1824, founded on the principle of protection.

Party divisions involved personal considerations only which were very acrimonious.

Daniel P. Cook, in the election of 1824, ran against Gov. Bond for congress, and was elected. During the campaign, the probability of the presidential election going into the house was not unforseen, and he had pledged himself in such contingency, "to vote, as a representative, in accordance with the clearely expressed sense of a majority of those whose will he should be called upon to express." The total popular vote of Illinois, which voted by districts, was 4,707, of which 1541 were cast for the electors of Adams, 1273 for Jackson, 1046 for Clay, 218 for Crawford, and 629 for James Turney, elector for Clay and Jackson jointly. If half of these latter votes had been added to Jackson's, it would have given him a pluraliy but not a majority. The electoral college of Illinois, in December following, dropping Clay and Crawford, gave to Jackson two votes, and to Adams one; but when the election of president came before the house of representatives in congress, Mr. Cook cast the vote of Illinois for Mr. Adams, as it was supposed by the people (who probably made no distinction between the highest popular vote and majority) in violation of his expressed pledges; and they believed that Gen. Jackson had been grossly cheated by their representative.*

And now Mr. Cook was again a candidate for congress. Prior to his voting for Adams, he was the most popular man in the State. This was attributable in great part to his social qualities, being gifted with a natural charin of manner almost irresistible, and a ready adaptability to surroundings, which were to him a great aid in his electioneering intercourse with the people, and which enabled him to accommodate himself with acceptability to every circumstance and condition of western life. Thus, with nothing against him but his vote for Adams, did he start into the campaign of 1826. His former opponents, John McLean, Elias Kent Kane, and ex-Gov. Bond had been beaten so badly and not appreciating the public resentment, they even now feared to again essay the race, and Joseph Duncan, afterward governor, then but little known in the State, had the temerity to come out against him. At that time Duncan was an original Jack

*Reynold's Life and Times, page 254.

[+During the convention campaign, in 1824, when Mr. Cook running for congress, was opposed by ex-Gov. Bond, he had occasion to stop over night with a farmer in the southern part of the State. In conversation Cook inquired the news, to which the farmer replied "there was none, except they were afraid that that d-d little Yankee, Cook, would be re-elected to congress." The conversation continued during the evening on various topics; in the morning when Mr. Cook was about to take his departure, the farmer, pleased with his agreeable and intelligent guest, inquired his name. Mr. Cook replied, that he was "that d-d little Yankee Cook," he had alluded to the evening previous! The farmer became his devoted supporter. (Edwards' life of Edwards.) In stature Mr. Cook was below the medium hight, slender and erect, weighing not exceeding 120 pounds; his voice was soft and melodious, and his speech ready and fluent. He was born in Scott county, Kentucky, and was a self made man, having few educational advantages in his youth. In official life he exhibited an extensive and varied knowledge of public affairs. He settled in Illinois in 1815, was the first attorney general of the State, and the second congressman, beating John McLean in 1819, and was bi-ennially thereafter re elected up to 1826. In congress he stood high; in 1825-6 he was transferred from the committee on public lands, to that of ways and means, and, owing to the absence of the chairman, acted in that laborious and responsible capacity most of the time. During his last term in congress he procured the very important grant of near 300,000 acres of land in this State for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan canal. Mr. Cook's health having been feeble for some time, at the close of the session in the Spring of 1827, he made a visit to Cuba, but soon returned. He died of consumption, at the home of his nativity, October 16, 1827, at the early age of 34. He was the son-in-law of Gov. Edwards, and left one child, Gen. John Cook, now of Springfield. The county of Cook, was named appropriately in his honor.]

son man, attached to his political fortune in admiration of the glory of his military achievements. He had been an ensign under the dauntless Croghan at Lower Sandusky and acquitted himself with credit. In the Illinois legislature he had served as a senator from Jackson county. His chances of success against Cook were regarded as hopeless; but he entered upon the campaign undaunted; his speeches, devoid of ornament, though short, were full of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of the State, Mr. Cook being much hindered by the state of his health. The most that was expected of Duncan, however, was that he would get a respectable vote-not the defeat of Cook. Both friends and foes were struck with surprise and amazement at the result. The violence of party feeling smouldering in the breasts of the people on account of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated until the defeat of Cook and the election of Duncan by a majority of 641-the vote standing 6,321 for Duncan to 5,680 for Cook. Aside from the convention struggle in 1824, none other than mere local and personal considerations had ever before controlled the result of an election in Illinois.

In the gubernatorial contest the party lines were not so closely drawn. Sloe was the undoubted Jackson candidate, but Edwards, too, professed adherence to the political fortunes of the "military chieftain." But the burden of his speeches related to State affairs and particularly the wasteful administration of the State finances, and other abuses. He characterized in fitting terms the wretched legislation which had first saddled the State with the bank whose worthless issues it was bound to redeem in gold and silver by 1831; whose notes it was bound to receive at par for taxes and other indebtedness, and which were paid out again, or auditor's warrants as their equivalent, at $3 for $1; showed the loss from this policy must necessarily be $2 for $1 received; that a debt of $150,000 had been imposed upon the State yearly when the ordinary current expenses should have been but about $25,000; that these losses must eventually be wrung out of the people by treble taxation; that no State, however great its energies or resources, could long withstand so enormous a draft upon them; that it tended to check immigra tion; emigrants as a class were "neither the most able nor the most willing to pay high taxes;" that while the annual State revenue amounted to between $40,000 and $50,000, being nearly double the current expenses of the government, these deplorable deficits and depreciation of currency were taking place, humiliating to our pride and disreputable to our character abroad. He inveighed against the unjust discrimination whereby residents were compelled to pay taxes yearly and non-residents biennially; that as the State revenue was chiefly derived from the latter, human ingenuity could not have devised a more effectual scheme to produce an annual deficit in the State treasury. This it was that created the demand for new issues of floods of auditor's warrants which depreciated the currency and afforded the opportunity for speculators to riot on the necessities of the people; but for this unfair advantage the further emission of these warrants would cease. "But then," he exclaimed to his auditory, "this would have withered, if not annihilated, that speculation which has so long been luxuriating upon the resources of the State and the honest earnings of the sweat of your brows. Such impositions as these, upon a free, highminded