of temper fixed the tone of the discussion. Finally,
when the vote was taken the Democrats broke evenly for and against the
measure; but, as five Whigs supported it, the bill finally passed,
seventeen to thirteen.

It was a great victory for Seymour, then only thirty-four years old.
Indeed, the history of the session may be described as the passage of
a single measure by a single man whose success was based on supreme
faith in the Erie canal. Seymour flowingly portrayed its benefits,
and, with prophetic eye, saw the deeply ladened boats transporting the
produce of prosperous farmers who had chosen homes in the West when
access was rendered so easy. What seemed to others to threaten
disaster to the State, appealed to him as a great highway of commerce
that would yield large revenues to the Commonwealth and abundantly
bless its people. He predicted the building of villages and the
development of diversified industries along its banks, and, in one of
his captivating sentences, he described the pleasure of travelling
quickly by packets, viewing the scenery of the Mohawk Valley by day
and sleeping comfortably in a cabin-berth at night. But he did not
favour building so rapidly as to burden the State with debt. This was
the mistake of the Seward administration, and the inevitable reaction
gave the Radicals an argument for delay, and Dennison an opportunity
for a telling report. Seymour put his faith in the earning capacity of
the Erie canal. Forty years later, when he advocated the abolition of
tolls, he found all his predictions more than verified.

CHAPTER VI

VAN BUREN DEFEATED AT BALTIMORE

1844

The canal contest and Horatio Seymour's success preceded many
surprises and disappointments which were to be disclosed in the
campaign of 1844. Never were the motions of the political pendulum
more agitated or more irregular. For three years, public sentiment had
designated Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren as the accepted candidates
of their respective parties for President; and, until the spring of
1844, the confidence of the friends of the Kentucky statesman did not
exceed the assurance of the followers of the ex-President. Indeed, the
Democratic party was known throughout the country as the "Van Buren
party," and, although James Buchanan, John C. Calhoun, and Lewis Cass
had each been named as suitable persons for Chief Executive, the sage
of Lindenwald was the party's recognised leader and prospective
candidate.