Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

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MEMOIRS OF JOHN ADAMS DIX.

alone excepted: of the nine States whose assent constituted
its ratification New York was not one. When.the fact became known in New York the question was raised, whether
to enter the Union or to stand apart, independent and untrammelled. The Antifederalists gave way reluctantly, and under protest, and thus, with hesitation and difficulty, New York
came into the Union. It was a triumph for the Federalists;
but it left them face to face with a discontented and able
opposition.
Upon the refusal of General Washington to serve a third
term as President, John Adams, a Federalist, was elected his
successor. At that time John Jay was Governor of New
York. The National and State Governments were both Federalist, and in full accord. But, as often happens, the beaten
party was really the stronger of the two, and it took but a little while to demonstrate the fact. The spirit of democracy,
or republicanism (for the opposition party claimed for itself
both those names), was in the air; and a course had begun
which no human power could have prevented from running
to its logical end.
Looking back to those days, one sees that the Federalists
were doomed. They contributed, no doubt, also, by more than
one blunder, to their fall; or it may be that, like the House
of Bourbon, they could not see and would not learn, and were
too honorable to change their convictions. The constitution of the State Government was anything but democratic.
There was a body known as the " Council of Revision,7' which,
acting with the governor, had an absolute veto on the acts of
the Legislature. There was a system by which the governor,
with a " Council of Appointment," had the entire political
patronage of the State, and disposed of every office. The
right of suffrage was much restricted. When the Legislature
assembled the custom was that the governor should appear
and make them a speech, to which they returned a formal reply. Many other customs, which had obtained under the
ante-Revolutionary domination, were kept up. Imagine how