You will find among them many of the most respectable names in the county. By them it will also appear how far Mr. Young's failure depended on Palmer and Bunce, and how far it was regulated by public sentiment. But, it is presumed that what Doctor Clark very properly calls a systematic attempt, to fix a course of fraud upon two or three individuals, and ascribe the result of that convention to them, must appear as absurd and ridiculous in the eyes of the public, as it did to Doctor Clark and his associates on the committee.
But why spend a moments time in refuting so base a calumny; by searching for argument and demonstration while it must be rendered useless by conviction. Another year has rolled away; another convention have met—have made a nomination for Congress and Assembly—They were unanimous—Mr. Young is not nominated, nor even named for the year 1816. This too was not till the blood-hounds of imaginary fraud had yelled their notes thro' the county, the quivers of malice had been exhausted of their poisoned arrows, and "the book," that great gun of a falling faction which they had been loading during the whole Summer past, had gone off with a harmless explosion.
It may not be amiss however, to examine the behaviour of these famous pretenders to fair and open conduct, and see how far they practice what they preach. In doing this, permit me to call your attention to the following certificates.
"I notice in the pamphlet signed 'A Citizen' lately published, an assertion that the committee in the town of Milton in the Spring of 1815, 'was procured by management, fraud and falsehood.' I attended the meeting in this town, according to previous notice in the Journal for that purpose, at which I saw Mr. T. Palmer and Mr. Bunce, but saw nothing in them like either fraud or management. I voted in that committee for Mess. Palmer, Keeler and Couch, but not from any solicitations of either Mr. Bunce or Mr. Palmer, but because I believed them the best men; nor had any one of these, or any one else, then told me that the three members had complained of Mr. Young.
"James Thompson, Esq. was a candidate for the same committee, and his partner, Alpheus Goodrich, Esq. wrote votes for the said James Thompson; but I refused to vote for him, not, however, from any thing I had ever heard either the said Palmer or Bunce say against him. There was a large majority for the three above named committee, but I saw no unusual exertions, or any thing that looked like unfair proceedings, in any one at the meeting who appeared to be voting the ticket which I did.—EBENEZER DIBBLE. Milton, March, 1816."
"I also was present at the above mentioned meeting for the purpose of choosing delegates to the county convention. The meeting was notified in the Journal, at Gregory & Hawkins', on the day some of the town officers met there. The meeting proceeded to organize by choosing Joel Keeler, Esq. chairman, and Thomas Palmer secretary, and then without opposition, voted to choose the committee by ballot. The candidates for whom ballots were wrote, were, on one ticket, James Thompson, Archy Kasson and Elias Benedict—On the other, Daniel Couch jun, Joel Keeler and Thomas Palmer. Mr. Bunce was there; and in the room, wrote votes for the latter three gentlemen, for whom I voted, but not from the insinuations or persuasions of any one. And I saw no intrigue, management or improper electioneering in either the said Palmer or Bunce, or any one else for that ticket; but believe every thing was conducted fairly.
"I had on that day, before I came there, heard of reports against Mr. Young, but not from either Mr. Palmer or Mr. Bunce; but to the best of my recollection from Elihu Roe in a conversation between him and Deacon Stillwell. I had before heard no intimation of the same from any one.—EZRA NASH. Milton, March 1816."
"I was present at the republican meeting in Milton, in the Spring of 1815, for the purpose of choosing a committee to meet the general committee to make a nomination. I saw no deception or intrigue on the part of either Mr. Palmer or Mr. Bunce, nor any particular exertion of either of them to procure the committee that were elected. Some time before the said meeting, I had understood that James Thompson, Esq. of said town, had expressed a wish to be one of the committee, and at the above mentioned meeting Alpheus Goodrich, Esq. his partner took a very active part to get him appointed—wrote votes and endeavored to get others to take them and vote for the said Thompson, his name being on the same ticket with Archy Kasson and Elias Benedict; but they received at the meeting, which consisted of about thirty, but very few votes, the other ticket, which I voted, obtaining a large majority. And I hereby further certify, that neither the said Palmer nor Bunce, both being present at the meeting, had ever informed me, or given me an intimation that there was any complaint against Mr. Young, nor did I ever hear of any complaints against Young, from any one until some time afterwards; and from the best of my recollection, Joel Lee was the first who informed me of these complaints against the said Young.—DAVID DERRICK. Milton, March 1816."
It appears that in the town of Milton Mr. Archy Kasson, Elias Benedict and James Thompson Esq. were candidates at the meeting in that town for the choice of delegates in 1815.—That Alpheus Goodrich Esq. Thompson's partner, in particular, acted decidedly in favor of "Master Jimmy" as he calls him, perhaps with a good deal of propriety, and peddled tickets with Mr. Kasson and his master's name on them. Now Mr. Thompson whose situation in point of popularity especially in his own town is not to be questioned, was very naturally surprised at his failure, and could not in his own mind attribute it to any thing short of "fraud and management." He had failed in despite of the combined efforts of his partner and Mr. Kasson. Finding how poor doctor Child had been cheated into a vote for three gentlemen whom Thompson considered mere tools compared to himself, it leaves him no doubt on the subject, and he can no longer avoid bristling with astonishment and rage. Tho' several days before the convention met, a hue and cry was immediately raised, and he repairs to court with almost the whole of the McBain meeting at his heels—The convention till this year (1816) had regularly met on the second day of April court.
The evil of this practice had been long felt and deplored by the advocates for freedom of deliberation in this body, without being able to attain a remedy. The scenes of this day however have for a while suspended, and I trust forever abolished the pernicious and degrading practice of court conventions. Tuesday gave them leisure to organize their forces and reconnoiter the points of attack. On Wednesday these veteran lobby members of a county convention each knew his post, and each was prepared with his story. The members of the convention, living scattered in different directions, some near and some in the more remote towns, arrive in small parties of one, two, and three in succession, which gives full leisure to the court hangers on to see and discourse with them in detail, and the astonished members of the convention the moment they arrive were thus assailed on all hands with a universal cry of Young, Young, Young for the candidate. No scheme was left untried, no pretence neglected, no argument overlooked, no path unexplored to entrap, to drive, to persuade and to lead the convention contrary to their old established practice, to nominate Mr. Young a third time as a candidate. Still despairing of success, Thompson and his associates (I trust in God but few of them) change their ground and become the black and unmanly assassins of individual character. The story of the pretended fraud attempted by Mr. Palmer, Mr. Bunce and others, was administered in profusion, and crammed down with epithets; not more than two or three of the convention having ever heard the account given of Mr Young by his worthy colleagues, and its reaching them thus for the first time thro' his huffing friends, it sounded truly like "a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Their pride was alarmed, and their sympathies excited, by being told that Judge Spencer had first cheated Mr. Young out of the Secretary's office, and that his wrath now burnt after him into the county of Saratoga, and what was passing strange—pitiful and wondrous pitiful was, that the Judge had thrust his hand so far into this dish of woes as to employ in his service the press and Editor of the Saratoga Journal.—Kasson's letter which appears in "the book," tho' now altered by striking out Stillwell's name, arrives by express from Albany, in season to make up for this dish, its last ingredient—But Alas! to no purpose; the people's delegates nominate Mr. Cowen.