Ohio History Journal

PRESS NOTICES OF GOVERNOR CLINTON'S

VISIT TO OHIO

COLUMBUS GAZETTE, JULY 14, 1825

Governor Clinton left here on Friday morning last,

accompanied by Governor Morrow, several of the canal

commissioners, ex-Governor Brown, and a number of

our fellow citizens, and arrived at Springfield in the

evening. He dined at Dayton on Saturday where he

would remain until Monday. From thence he would

proceed to Cincinnati by way of Hamilton and etc.,

where he would arrive on Tuesday evening. Governor

Clinton has been shown the greatest attention and re-

spect in all the towns through which he has passed

since his arrival in Ohio. It is understood that Gov-

ernor Clinton and Henry Clay, Esq., were to partake

of a public dinner in the great emporium of the West

on Wednesday. If so, Cincinnati has certainly been

highly honored by having within her city at the same

time, two of the greatest men of the present age.

CINCINNATI, FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1825

(National Republican)

Governor Clinton and suite arrived in this city on

Wednesday morning last. He was attended by Gov-

ernor Morrow, Governor Brown, one of the commis-

sioners of the Canal Fund, and by Judge Tappan and

Micajah T. Williams, canal commissioners. Our vis-

(100)

Governor Clinton's Visit to Ohio  101

itors were met on Tuesday evening, twelve miles from

town, by the troupe of Cincinnati Hussars -- to which

point they were very handsomely escorted by the Ham-

ilton Dragoons. On Wednesday a number of gentle-

men rode out five miles to Hutchinson's Tavern, where

they joined the cavalcade. Near the corporation line

they were met by the city guards and the procession

moved in good order to the Cincinnati Hotel; where

numbers of our citizens in the course of the day paid

their respects to the distinguished advocate of general

education and internal improvement.

Yesterday Governor Clinton and suite, accompanied

by Governor Morrow, Messrs. Brown and Tappan and

a number of our citizens left here in the Steamboat

General Pike for Louisville where they have been in-

vited to partake of a public dinner by a deputation from

that place. They are expected here on Monday and

preparations are making for a public dinner to be given

on Tuesday next.

Much credit is due to our worthy chief magistrate

for the handsome manner in which he received Gov-

ernor Clinton in the name of the state; and we under-

stand it is the intention of Governor Morrow to accom-

pany Ohio's guest to Pittsburgh, by way of Lebanon,

Chillicothe and Zanesville.  Nothing could be more

gratifying to the people of Ohio than this attention be-

stowed by their governor on the distinguished visitor.

MIAMI CANAL

We have the pleasure of informing our readers that

this important work will probably be commenced on

Thursday next, at Middletown, in presence of Gover-

102      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

nor Morrow and the great patron of internal improve-

ments, DeWitt Clinton.

GOVERNOR CLINTON AT HAMILTON, OHIO

In that year (1825) his excellency DeWitt Clinton,

governor of the state of New York, visited Ohio on the

invitation of the citizens of this state, in order to be

present at the commencement of the internal improve-

ments of the state by our canals. As soon as it was

known that he would be present on that date, an invi-

tation was extended to the most prominent gentlemen

of the vicinity to meet him, on the 11th of July in Ham-

ilton. The invitation read as follows:

Sir, -- You are respectfully invited to attend, at Hamilton,

on Tuesday, the 12th of July inst., at an early hour, for the pur-

pose of partaking of a dinner to be prepared for their excellen-

cies DeWitt Clinton and Jeremiah Morrow, Governors of the

States of New York and Ohio. Invite any of your friends who

can make it convenient to attend with you.

By order of the committee of arrangement.

LEWIS P. SAYRE, Chairman.

Hamilton, July 11, 1925.

The invitation was accepted quite generally. Gov-

ernor Clinton and Governor Morrow who had partici-

pated at the formal opening of work on the Miami

Canal, at Middletown on July 11 were present at the

dinner.

The venerable John Reily presided at the table as-

sisted by John Woods as vice president. Governor

Clinton was met at Middletown on the previous day by

a deputation from Hamilton, with Captain Dunn at the

head of his fine company of cavalry, together with a

Governor Clinton's Visit to Ohio         103

large concourse of citizens, who escorted him to Ham-

ilton, where rooms had been prepared for his reception.

The enthusiasm which was excited by the presence of

Governor Clinton was, if possible, heightened by the

toasts and sentiments which followed the removal of

the cloth. Thirteen regular toasts had been prepared.

After the regular toasts were given Mr. Reily ad-

dressed the assembly as follows:

I rise, gentlemen, to propose a toast in obedience to the in-

structions of the committee of arrangements; and, in thus becom-

ing the organ of my fellow-citizens, I have the satisfaction of

performing a duty highly gratifying to myself.

It is only an act of justice to testify respect to men of dis-

tinguished worth and talents, whose lives have been devoted to

the service of their country. But this is an occasion of more than

common interest. Our state has just commenced a stupendous

work of internal improvement similar to that which New York

has nearly completed, under the auspices of our distinguished

guest -- a work which is destined to elevate her to a proud rank

among the states of the Union. Under such circumstances it is

natural for her to look to New York for her model, and to DeWitt

Clinton as her presiding spirit. I shall, therefore, meet the cordial

response of this assembly when I propose --

DeWitt Clinton, the friend and promoter of internal improve-

ment.

To which Governor Clinton replied:

Fellow citizens, -- I receive with grateful sensibility this ex-

pression of approbation, and I fully appreciate its importance. Its

communication through so respectable an organ in behalf of this

respectable company renders it pecularily interesting, and I offer

to you my sincere thanks for your kindness to me on this occasion

and during my visit to this place.

For fifteen years I have devoted myself to the great cause of

internal improvement, and it has been my good fortune, during

my administration, to witness the commencement of the canals

of New York, and in a very short time I hope to witness their

completion. To the moral power and intelligence of the people

104       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

we must ascribe the success of these stupendous undertakings.

Ohio in her infant state with inferior revenues and a less numer-

ous population, has followed the example set by her elder sister,

and has undertaken an enterprise without a parallel in the history

of mankind, considering all the circumstances under which it has

been commenced; and the whole exhibits wisdom, patriotism and

magnanimity that would reflect honor on any age or country.

The success is as certain as the resulting advantages, unless

some destroying spirit should be let loose among you and

darken the brightest days that ever opened upon the West. I beg

leave to present a toast:

The public-spirited State of Ohio and her excellent chief

magistrate who have pointed out her ways to greatness and glory,

and supported her in her illustrious career.

HONORS TO GOVERNOR CLINTON

CINCINNATI, FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1825

(National Republican)

CIVIC HONORS

On Monday last, Governor Clinton, accompanied by

our worthy Governor Morrow and many respectable

citizens, returned to this place in the Steamboat Gen-

eral Pike from Louisville and Lawrenceburg, where

public dinners and other demonstrations of respect had

been given to the great champion of internal improve-

ment and the mechanic arts. His arrival was an-

nounced by the firing of cannon from all the steam-

boats lying at the wharf, and hailed "by an immense

concourse of our citizens assembled on the bank, who

received him with that cordiality which is always ex-

cited in the breasts of honest men towards pure pa-

triots and public characters of virtue and usefulness."

The Committee on Arrangements, the mayor of the

city and the assembled multitude attended him from the

boat to the hotel where he was introduced to great num-

Governor Clinton's Visit to Ohio     105

bers of our citizens who were deprived of that pleasure

during his short stay with us last week.

On Tuesday morning, after having visited the West-

ern Museum, he was escorted to the First Presbyterian

Church by the several Masonic lodges of this city, and a

long procession of citizens, where an eloquent and ap-

propriate address was delivered by Joseph S. Benham,

Esq., to a highly respectable and crowded audience,

which was received with great applause and satisfac-

tion. At the conclusion of Mr. Benham's address, Gov-

ernor Clinton rose, and in a grave and dignified man-

ner briefly remarked on the occasion which had brought

together so numerous and respectable a portion of our

society: on the advantages which Ohio is deriving from

her local situation, the fertility of her soil, and the salu-

brity of her climate; on the great benefits which must

inevitably result to her and to this city, from the con-

struction of our contemplated canals; and above all,

from the moral character, enterprise and intelligence of

the people. We regret that we have not been able to

procure a copy of this highly finished address, as also

that of Mr. Benham, for publication in this paper, but

expect to furnish our readers with both next week.

Since the above was in type we have received a copy

of Mr. Clinton's address, as delivered in the church,

which we lay before our readers with much pleasure.

It is as follows:

CITIZENS OF CINCINNATI

The favorable notice taken of my conduct, by the gentleman

of distinguished talents who represents you on this occasion, has

made an impression on my mind which will endure with life and

which no event can obliterate. It is true that I have endeavored

to deserve well of our country and it is equally true that my ex-

106        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

ertions have been abundantly rewarded in its approving kindness.

If my future course shall be marked with any beneficial results

to the community, it must be ascribed to the animating and en-

couraging voice of my fellow citizens. But without further ref-

erence to myself, permit me to make a few remarks on a subject

of some, and certain much greater, importance.

The first object that strikes the view of the stranger on en-

tering the regions of the West, is the superior and extraordinary

richness of the soil, evinced, if under cultivation, by the immense

quantity and excellent quality of its vegetable productions, and if

still unclaimed, by the towering and widespread forests which

abound with trees of extraordinary dimensions and with all kinds

of plants applicable to the purposes of human accommodation.

As he proceeds, he will find that these regions are uncommonly

well watered -- that a great proportion is not yet occupied and

that, in some parts, settlements are, "like angels' visits, few and

far between"; and that in others, they assume a more compact

character and appear rising in gradation from the solitary man-

sion to the hamlet, village and town; but surely we would not

anticipate the view of a fair and extensive city, springing up on

the beautiful river, like Venus from the ocean. Indeed, if it had

been predicted some years ago that in this place, the site of a

military encampment, surrounded by hostile savages and trodden

over by the beasts of the wilderness, there would arise, in less

than a quarter of a century, a city larger than the greatest sec-

ondary city of Atlantic America, carrying on an extensive com-

merce and abounding with important manufacturing establish-

ments, containing within its bosom a numerous, intelligent and

enterprising population and supplying all that can administer to

the accommodation of man -- if such a prediction had at that time

been made it would have been set down as the vision of eccentric

folly or the dream of a distempered imagination. But absurd as

it might have appeared at the time, it has been fully realized, and

as the traveler enters this place, his attention and admiration are

divided between an elegant and prosperous city and the fair river

on which it is situated. It has been remarked as the uniform

course of human affairs that the march of knowledge, like the

sun, travels from East to West; and truly it would appear in this

cases that the embellishments of taste, as well as the acquisition

of intellect, have taken a similar direction. And you have indeed

risen into notice, not like a meteor emitting evanescent corusca-

tions, or an Aurora Borealis, dazzling with occasional splendor

but with the steady illumination of a star of the first order.

This favorable state of things must have arisen from the

felicity of your situation -- from the enterprising character of

Governor Clinton's Visit to Ohio       107

your population -- from an intelligent view of your relative as

well as abstract condition; -- from a determination to improve

advantages -- to surmount difficulties and to avail ourselves of

the beneficence of nature and the ingenuity of arts. You have

created accommodating steam vessels by which you have a rapid

and lucrative intercourse with the great valley of the Mississippi

and its corresponding regions. You have applied the power of

steam to the establishment of important manufacturies and the

demonstrations of your enterprise are witnessed, not only in the

remote regions of the West, but on the shores of the Atlantic.

Will you permit me to remark, that the sources of your pros-

perity lie in the continuance of the same career and in the encour-

agement of the means of communication. The contemplated

canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio is essential to your trade

with the great markets of the North. It will give you an easy

and prosperous intercourse with the great cities of Philadelphia,

New York, Baltimore, Montreal and hundreds of intermediate

and subordinate markets. -- A canal round the Falls of Ohio will

facilitate your trade with the regions of the West. -- Roads in all

directions will be indispensable auxiliaries for the accomplishment

of the object. In one word, your philosopher's stone is not to be

found in the crucibles of alchemy, but in the products of your soil

and their advantageous disposal. Your Dorados or mountains

of gold are to be seen, not in the follies or fictions of ignorance

and fatuity, but in the cultivation of a vast inland trade, now at

your command, and opening still more extensively for your

benefit.

That you may make such a disposition of these great bless-

ings as may conduct you to an eminence of prosperity, is my sin-

cere prayer; and greatly will I be disappointed in my estimation

of men and my view of futurity if a different fate await you.

After the exercises at the church were concluded the

procession returned to the Cincinnati Hotel, where a

public dinner had been provided by Colonel Mack, in

honor of our illustrious guest. At five o'clock the din-

ing rooms were thrown open and the most numerous and

respectable body of our citizens ever assembled on a

like occasion sat down to an entertainment rich in every

qualification which could inspire good will to each

other, patriotism to our country and gratitude to pub-

108      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

lic benefactors -- Isaac G. Burnet, Esq., mayor of the

city, presided, assisted by General Lytle and Judge Burk

as vice presidents. The evening passed off in the ut-

most harmony and satisfaction. The following toasts

were drunk:

Here follow a list of toasts to Our Country: The

Memory of Washington; The President of the United

States; The Heroes of the Revolution; Lafayette; Edu-

cation; The Republics of South America; Greece; The

State of New York; The State of Ohio; The Memory

of George Clinton; DeWitt Clinton; Governor Morrow.

Governor Clinton offered the following volunteer toast

-- The City of Cincinnati -- The isthmus of union be-

tween the commerce of the East and the West; may it

realize in the prosperity of its citizens the unparalleled

advantages of its position.

Governor Morrow offered -- Ohio -- a state central

on the great thoroughfare of an extended internal com-

merce. Her grand canal will form the established high-

way for intercommunication, social and commercial,

between her sisters of the North and East, and those

of the South and West.

In the evening, General Lytle gave a splendid party

to Mr. Clinton and suite, and to a numerous and fash-

ionable company of ladies and gentlemen.

At ten o'clock on Wednesday Governor Clinton, es-

corted by the Cincinnati Hussars, and many of our citi-

zens in carriages and on horseback, left this city for the

Middletown Summit, on the Miami Canal, to attend the

celebration of commencing that important work.