A Century in the Comptroller's Office, State of New York, 1797 to 1897

by James A. Roberts

The item, however, exhibits the scrupulous exactness of the man. Instead of presenting the bill with an indefinite amount of incidentals, he itemized it thus particularly to his own disadvantage; but, as Mr. Weed afterward admitted, it was a credit to his honesty.

It was during Mr. Marcy's term that much of the work on the Erie canal was done, and the careful scrutiny which the bills for this work received was largely instrumental in keeping the cost within the estimates. He took ground as chief financial officer of the State against the construction of the Chenango and Genesee Valley canals, for the reason that these canals would not, in his judgment, pay the expenses of maintenance and the interest on the debt which would be incurred in their construction. While friends of the measures endeavored to convince the Legislature that the Comptroller was wrong in his calculation, the result, when these works were finally completed, fully justified the Comptroller's view. As Governor he made some friends, and more enemies, by adhering to the same careful course he had maintained as Comptroller. In 1826 the Legislature created the Canal Board, and the Comptroller was made ex-officio a member of it, and he has continued to act as such member down to the present.

On the 27th day of January, 1829, the Legislature elected as the successor of Mr. Marcy a man who, in his time, made a great impression upon State and National politics—Silas Wright, of Canton, a lawyer and a Regency Democrat. He had previously been Surrogate of St. Lawrence county, State Senator from the fourth district for the years 1824, 1825, 1826 and 1827, and a Member of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses. In the latter position he had achieved considerable reputation. After his five years' service as Comptroller he held with high honor, for nearly twelve years, the position of United States Senator. During the term of Mr. Van Buren as President he was considered to voice the administration in his public utterances. He served faithfully and intelligently upon some of the most important committees. He resigned to take the office of Governor, which office he held in 1845 and 1846, and was defeated for re-election by John Young in November, 1846. Mr. Wright continued the careful and conservative policy of his predecessor as to expenditures. He took strong ground against the numerous and extensive raids on the treasury which were then organized. His reports were always plain, business-like papers, which set out in intelligible language the consequences of the rapidly-increasing expenses. Mr. Wright in many ways was a remarkable man. The public positions which he held were varied, and it was a great test of his adaptability to be able to fill the duties of these various positions with much more than ordinary success. In 1831 the financial law of the State was revised, and the provisions relating to the powers and duties of the Comptroller were codified and arranged.

Upon his election as United States Senator Mr. Wright resigned and was succeeded by Azariah C. Flagg, of Plattsburgh, a lawyer and a Regency Democrat, who was elected on January 11, 1834. He had been a Member of Assembly from Clinton county in 1823 and 1824, and held the office of Secretary of State from 1826 to 1833. He had run counter to public opinion in 1823 as the leader of the Assembly opposition to the Electoral law—a law designed to give to the people directly the power of chosing the presidential electors, instead of leaving that power vested in the Legislature, as had been the law theretofore. The Albany Regency had determined to prevent any change, and succeeded in warding off legislative action. The measure, however, met the cordial approval of the people, and that fact, together with the removal of Governor Clinton as Canal Commissioner—a position in which his uncompensated services had been of the greatest value—swept Clinton, whose political fortunes then seemed at their lowest ebb, triumphantly into the gubernatorial chair. But it was a principle of the Albany Regency, and of Martin Van Buren, then at its head, never to forget a man who had fallen or suffered in their service; and it was in reward for Mr. Flagg's unpopular opposition to the Electoral bill that in 1826 he was chosen Secretary of State. Mr. Flagg has the distinction of having served longer as Comptroller than any other incumbent of the office, with the exception of Archibald McIntyre. He held the office from January 11, 1834, to February 4, 1839, and again from February 7, 1842, to November 7, 1847. During his first term he was a member of the commission for the erection of the State Hall, and that building still stands as a monument to the Commission's good judgment in architecture, and in the adaptation of means to an end. Upon the completion of the State Hall the old State Hall, corner of Lodge and State streets, was sold by the Commission. By chapters 2 and 150 of the Laws of 1837 the Comptroller was made the custodian of moneys received from the United States, since known as the United States Deposit Fund. Theoretically this money was not given to the several States, but was to be subject to repayment whenever called for. The National Government will hardly, at this late day, call for these moneys. If it did not feel compelled to do so in the trying financial straits of the war it is not likely that it will do so in times of peace. But these moneys have always been kept as a separate fund, substantially as required by the act of 1837, and the principal, through all changes of, and losses from, investment, has been kept intact.

By chapter 260 of the Laws of 1838 the Comptroller, to guard against counterfeiting, was authorized and required to have engraved and printed in the best manner, circulating notes to be issued to the incorporated banks of the State, and to countersign the same; and a system was inaugurated for the deposit of securities in the Comptroller's office which should be a guaranty for the notes issued by the banks—a system very similar to that later adopted by the United States for National banks. One feature which would be regarded as a most unwise one to-day formed a part of this plan; the banks were authorized to deposit one-half the security in bonds and mortgages. The bill also provided that banking associations should file with the Comptroller a semi-annual report of the transactions of the bank. This was practically the inauguration of the supervision of the banks, which was later transferred to the Banking Department. The Legislature had, in 1829, at the time of the creation of the safety fund, authorized the appointment of three Bank Commissioners, whose duty it was to visit the banks, examine their condition, and report to the Legislature. The office of Bank Commissioner was abolished in 1843, and the power of supervision possessed by them was then transferred to the Comptroller, and he continued to retain that power until 1851, when the Banking Department was created. It was during Mr. Flagg's first term that the great financial panic of 1837 took place, and the State's financial condition at that time was not all that might be desired. There was a large debt, mostly incurred in the construction of canals. The revenues had very much decreased, and a new way of raising funds must be used to meet the liabilities of the State and maintain her credit. Matters financial in the State went from bad to worse. In 1842, after long debate, the Legislature passed an act authorizing the laying of a tax of one mill upon every dollar of real and personal property in the State, and pledging the revenues of the State for the payment of its liabilities, and suspending all public work, except where great loss would come to the State by such suspension. In this manner the credit of the State was made secure and its obligations met. This act was prepared and advocated by Mr. Flagg. The significance of this legislation is found largely in the fact that from 1826 to 1842 no State tax for general purposes had been required.

The long lease of power which the Democrats had held in this State was broken in the fall of 1838 by the combined efforts of the Whigs and Anti-Masons, and, accordingly, on the 4th of January, 1839, Mr. Flagg was removed, and Bates Cook, of Lewiston, a lawyer and an Anti-Mason was chosen by the Legislature in his place. Mr. Cook's only previous official service of note had been as Member of the Twenty-second Congress. His appointment was largely due to the influence and representations of William H. Seward, then the Governor, and Thurlow Weed. He had been associated with these gentlemen in the prosecution of the abductors of William Morgan, and, like Mr. Seward and Mr. Fillmore, received his political start from Anti-Masonic influence. Mr. Cook soon had an opportunity to show Mr. Weed his appreciation of the favor done him. Chapter 1 of the Laws of 1840 authorized the Comptroller and Secretary of State to enter into a contract with Thurlow Weed to do the printing for the Legislature, executive offices and various boards, at prices not exceeding ordinary prices in Albany.