and independent people, I boldly assert, have no parallel in the annals of free government, and they are only to be borne by that charity which hopeth all things, believeth all things, and endureth all things."

Edwards fought his campaign battles single-handed, and solely upon the grounds of fiscal reform as affecting the welfare of the State, irrespective of party affiliations. This brought him in array against nearly every public man of any prominence in the State, while many of his friends stood aloof, deeming it hazardous to be identified with him. But from his triumph it may well be deduced that his forcible and instructive addresses gained the ear of the people. The legislature was, however, largely against him. His campaign speeches having produced a good effect upon the people, as evinced by their sustaining him, and encouraged by his remarkable triumph, he now attempted to go further. In his inaugural message he alluded to the delinquencies of the Shawneetown branch of the State bank, as reported by the committee of investigation, stating that "its concerns had been loosely and irregularly conducted;" that the deranged state of its accounts did not exhibit the amount of debts due, and that money had been loaned without security, contrary to the requirements of the law, sworn by all its officers to execute faithfully the injunction, "I will not permit money to be loaned to any individual without security." From which he deduced not only fraud and imposition, but the clearest moral perjury, voluntarily and deliberately committed.f

And now followed in short order several messages from him to the house, charging specific acts of corruption, particularly upon the officers of the Edwardsville branch of the State bank. A loan of $2,050 had been obtained by a mortgage upon real estate, which on execution was valued at $737.75 and which actually sold for only $491.83; another loan of $6,625 was effected upon realty valued at $3,140.71, when the sworn duty of the officers was to exact real estate security in double value of the loan, and to loan but $1,000 on such security at one time to one man. Three days later, in another message, he charged that these loans were to Thos. J. McGuire, Emanuel J. West, and Theophilus W. Smith, to establish a press at Edwardsville, intended to promote the introduction of slavery into the State; that lieutenant-governor Kinney president of the bank, advanced the money to buy the press, that McGuire was the printer who obtained the loan with West as seenrity, and that Smith the cashier, became the editor; that no entries on the minute book showed when the loan was made, &c. These details were perhaps indiscrete, as they gave color to the charge that his excellency was actuated by something more than feelings purely of reform.

Having obtained further information, the governor, on the 25th of January, submitted to the house of representatives, as the grand inquest of the State, charges of grave and serious import against the officers and board of directors of the branch bank at Edwardsville, alleged to be predicated upon the books, accounts, and papers, delivered by the late cashier, T. W. Smith, to his successor, Mr. Miller: 1st, for making loans of more than $1000 upon real estate security to various individuals; 2d, making loans of

*Edward's Life, by his son N. W.

*See House Journal, session of 1826-7.

more than $100 upon personal security-that the president himself had two several loans of $1000 each on personal security, made, too, out of the 10 per cent fund which was never to be put into circulation; 3d, loaning on real estate not free from incumbrances; 4th, loaning on insufficient security; 5th, culpable neglect of duty in not protesting overdue paper and proceeding to the collection thereof; all in violation of the positive requirements of the law; stating that among the batch of promissory notes due and unrenewed, running back for three years, and handed over by T. W. Smith (late cashier) to his successor, there were eleven forgeries detected as early as 1822, yet no effort had been made to bring the offender to punishment; that in 1824, Thomas J. McGuire had obtained a loan of $1000 on a mortgage improperly executed and without relinquishing dower (he being married), on a piece of property not worth $300; the same to Emanuel J. West on land valued on execution at $301 18; that by the law, all loans, before made, were to be passed upon by twothirds of the board, yet T. W. Smith had obtained a loan without being so sanctioned, because at the time the president was absent from the State, two of the four directors were attending the legis lature as senators, and Smith himself, one of the supreme judges, was also there in attendance. The governor further adroitly declared that he fully appreciated the formidable combinations that had grown out of the banking interest in the State, but as the crisis had arrived he proposed meeting it, notwithstanding menaces to intimidate him had been made. He would shrink from no danger, but fearlessly discharge the high trust reposed in him by the people. The message and accompanying documents were referred to a select committee of seven, composed of Henry J. Mills, George Churchill, Thomas Reynolds, William Sim, W. Cavarly and Conrad Will, with power to send for persons and papers.

Four days later, the governor, having embarked in the undertaking of ferreting out fiscal corruptions, boldly and circumstantially brought forward nine distinctive charges against the cashier of the principal bank at Vandalia, J. M. Duncan, mostly relating to withholding the required information as to the condition of the bank, failing to make out descriptive lists of the burnt notes, and failing to lay before the legislature his half yearly report as to the condition of the branches, all of which the law required, and in all which particulars the law had been violated. This message, too, was referred to a committee. Still again he charged that Theophilus W. Smith did, when acting as cashier, misapply and appropriate to his own use a large amount of funds of the bank, which he still withheld, and as he presided over the circuit court in the county of his residence, he asked that provision be made for instituting suit against him outside of his own circuit.

And now there was intense excitement at the capital. The gov ernor had, single handed, to deal with adroit and sagacious politi cians of the dominant party, some high in office, before a legislature with whom he was in a party minority. The cry was raised that the charges "emanated from a base and malignant determination, on the part of the governor, to prostrate every individual who had dared to oppose his election,"* Governor Ford

*See J. M. Duncan's letter, House Journal, January 29,1827.

says: “A powerful combination of influential men was thus formed to thwart the investigation. The governor was openly and boldly charged with base motives; and that kind of stigma was attempted to be cast on him which is apt to fix itself upon a common informer. His charges against Mr. Crawford were remembered, and he was now charged with being influenced by hostility towards Judge Smith, who had been a friend toMr. Crawford's election."

The charges against J. M. Duncan were speedily disposed of. The committee, February 8th, reported, "exculpating the cashier of the principal bank from all censure," and that there was "not the least semblance of the violation of his duty," in any of the charges preferred by his Excellency; and as to the misapplication of the bank funds by Judge Smith, while cashier, they reported that it was not the province of the general assembly to decide upon the validity of the claims between the bank and its officers; the question was a judicial one; that a law already existed providing for a change of venue, where the judge of a court was interested in a suit.*

The committee of 7, which Governor Ford says was "packed" against the governor, gave the subject a long and apparently careful investigation, their proceedings being taken down in writing and fully reported to the house. Many of the charges, apparently hastily made, were satisfactorily explained, yet much irregularity in the conduct and management of the bank also appeared, chief of which was in connection with the insufficiency of the real estate security required. But this was partly explained in that valnations were made after the depreciation of the bank notes, in accordance with the real value of the money received, while the hard times incident to that period also caused a very great depreciation of property generally. The loans exceeding $1000, made to directors and officers, it appeared, were authorized by section 18 of the law, which allowed them to borrow $750" in addition to the amount which as individuals they might be entitled to." The law was further construed that they were entitled to borrow on personal security beyond the $100 allowed to individuals, which had been sanctioned by the governor himself in the case of Daniel Parkinson, a director from Sangamon, who had borrowed $850, August 9, 1821, on a note, with N. Edwards as personal security. It appeared further that this same Parkinson had presented and drawn the money on the eleven $100 notes alleged by the governor to be forged. The notes purported to be from a number of parties, but "appeared to have been signed in the handwriting of" the director from Sangamon. On inquiry, Parkinson said he was not personally acquainted with the makers of the notes, but he had heard that they were good, and lived down on Indian creek. T. W. Smith made affidavit that he had been informed by the sheriff and clerk of Sangamon county, who had made diligent search for them in order to serve them with process at the suit of the bank, that no such persons ever resided in the county to their knowledge and belief. The charge that money had been re-loaned out of the 10 per cent fund, the governor took occasion to retract.‡ The house of representatives, in committee of the whole, after

considering the report of the special committee, reported for adoption: "Resolved, That nothing has been proved against the late president, directors and cashier of the branch bank at Edwardsville, to-wit: William Kinney, Joseph A. Beaird, Thomas Carlin, Abraham Prickett, Elijah Iles and Theophilus W. Smith, which would justify the belief that they had acted corruptly and in bad faith in the management of the affairs of said bank;" which was adopted by the house. Thus did the attempt of the governor to impeach the managers of the old State Bank prove a complete failure.

As illustrative both of the cordiality existing between two of the co-ordinate branches of government and the relative dignity of the same, we give the following: Some joint resolutions, addressed to congress, were passed by the legislature in favor of amending the constitution according to Mr. Benton's idea, to allow the people to vote directly for president and vice president. The governor was required to transmit a copy of the resolutions to the execu tives of the several States, with the request that they be laid before the legislatures thereof, and also to our senators and representatives in congress. But he returned them to the house with an indignant letter, protesting against the "unprecedented language of the resolutions requiring him to transmit" them; that it implied an authority over a co-ordinate branch of the government, and was an assumption of power not granted to the two houses under the constitution; that such "language was violative of their relative independence," and that he "declined obedience to a command so unwarranted;" he would, however, comply with a "request" to that effect. The offensive word was changed!

One of the most exciting measures passed at this session, was the repeal of the circuit court system, established 2 years before. During that time demagogues, well knowing how to create political capital by inference in the absence of facts, charged extravagance and a prodigal waste of the people's money in sustaining a judiciary, and virtually pensioning the supreme court, which might well perform all the circuit duty. A good deal of opposi tion had been stirred up among the people by the governor during his canvass, and he also urged the repeal in his inaugural message. Upon the other hand, all the nine judges, circuit and supreme, opposed it. But in this measure the governor was aided by some of his worst enemies, who had failed in their judicial aspirations two years before when the court was re-organized, and the bill prevailed. The State was divided into five circuits, assigning one of the supreme judges to each of four, to hold two terms of court in each county yearly. One of the circuit judges, the Hon. R. M. Young, was retained on a circuit in the military district. But one yearly term of the supreme court was provided. The salaries of the judges were increased from $800 to $1000. The salaries of the five circuit judges were $600 each. Thus was saved to the State treasury annually a total of $2400 from this source, at an incalculable delay and vexation to suitors in both the supreme and circuit courts. But the mere question of expense, and the petty revenge of sore aspirants, were not the only things which conspired to this repeal. One of the circuit judges was to be punished for "proscription," it was said. The circuit judges had power to appoint See House Journal, p. 454.

circuit clerks, but that from this as a corollary followed the power of removal, was not so clear. Judge McRoberts so viewed it, and had exercised both powers, proscriptively, it was thought. He had removed from that office, in Madison county, Joseph Conway, a political opponent, and appointed in his stead, Emanuel J. West, his friend. Conway, being well known and popular, was elected to the State senate, and after riding into office on his grievance before the people, in the legislature he brought it to bear against the entire system, and completed his revenge against McRoberts by repealing all the judges but one out of office. Judge McRoberts, intellectualy one of the first men of the State, was also unpopular on account of arbitrarily entering up judgment against Governor Coles, after he had been released by an act of the legis lature from fine in emancipating his negroes without giving bond that they should not become a charge upon the county.

The supreme judges appointed at the session of 1824-5 to revise the statutes, submitted the result of their labor so far as completed. Appreciating the magnitude of such a work, fraught with such great interests, to the perfection of which great and uninterrupted re-search should be brought, they had not completed many chapters. A joint committee from both houses was appointed, which went earnestly at work to finish up the revision, employing as assistants the circuit judges in attendance at the seat of government. The revision embraced all the various laws relating to the right of property, contracts and civil actions, and the rights of persons and society, and the modes of redress. Justices of the peace were at this session made elective by the people.

1828-9-Early in the session of 1826-7, the legislature had under consideration some resolutions memorializing congress to reduce the price of public lands, and for a grant to the State of all the public lands lying therein, upon such principles as might be deemed just and equitable. Mr. Blackwell offered an amendment-"on condition that the State at all times grant to actual settlers each not less than a quarter section, to be occupied and improved." In a communication to the house, the governor recommended that our delegates in congress be instructed "to contract with the government for a surrender of the public lands within the State, on the following terms: the State to be at all the expenses of selling them at a price not exceeding 25 cents per acre; to keep an office constantly open for that purpose, and to pay to the general government annually 25 cents per acre for all that shall have been sold." Later, the committee to which the governor's communication had been referred, reported, and taking a step in advance, required from congress a surrender of the public lands "unconditionally, subject to such disposition as the people of the State,by their representatives, may deem most conducive to their prosperity and happiness."

This proposition threw the governor's effectually in the shade, and he was not heard from again during the session upon the subject. But by the meeting of the legislature in 1828, he had had ample time to work this subject up to its largest proportions. He now eclipsed the bold demand of the committee, by broadly claiming in his message of extraordinary length, evincing unusu