forth with rhetorical effect and great
clearness the inestimable advantages that must come to city and to
State; and, with the ease of a financier, inspired with sounder views
than had been observed in the care of his own estate, he demonstrated
the manner of securing abundant funds for the great work. "If the
project of a canal," he said, in conclusion, "was intended to advance
the views of individuals, or to foment the divisions of party; if it
promoted the interests of a few at the expense of the prosperity of
the many; if its benefits were limited to place, or fugitive as to
duration; then, indeed, it might be received with cold indifference or
treated with stern neglect; but the overflowing blessings from this
great fountain of public good and national abundance will be as
extensive as our own country and as durable as time. It may be
confidently asserted that this canal, as to the extent of its route,
as to the countries which it connects, and as to the consequences
which it will produce, is without a parallel in the history of
mankind. It remains for a free state to create a new era in history,
and to erect a work more stupendous, more magnificent, and more
beneficial than has hitherto been achieved by the human race."

When the people heard and read this memorial, monster mass-meetings,
held at Albany and other points along the proposed waterway, gave vent
to acclamations of joy; and Clinton was welcomed whenever and wherever
he appeared. These marks of public favour were by no means confined to
the lower classes. Men of large property openly espoused his cause;
and when the Legislature convened, in January, 1816, a new commission,
with Clinton at its head, was authorised to make surveys and
estimates, receive grants and donations, and report to the next
Legislature.

It was a great triumph for Clinton. He went to Albany a political
outcast, he returned to New York gilded with the first rays of a new
and rising career, destined to be as remarkable as the most romantic
story belonging to the early days of the last century. To make his
success the more conspicuous, it became known, before the legislative
session ended, that his quarrel with Spencer had been settled.
Spencer's wife, who was Clinton's sister, had earnestly striven to
bring them together; but neither Spencer nor Clinton was made of the
stuff likely to allow family affection to interfere with the promotion
of their careers. As time went on, however,