This year was
marked with more political virulence than any other year since the
independence of the country. It was during the year 1798 that the
alien and sedition laws were passed. In the autumn of 1798, Matthew
Lyon, then a representative in Congress from Vermont, was endicted for
harbouring an intention "to stir up sedition, and to bring the
president and government of the United States into contempt," &c. He
was convicted, and the sentence was--"Matthew Lyon, it is the pleasure
of this court that you be imprisoned four months, pay costs, and a
fine of one thousand dollars, and stand committed until the judgment
be complied with." This year the celebrated mission to France,
consisting of Messrs. Marshall, Pinckney, and Gerry, excited the
attention not only of the American people, but of the civilized world.
In short, this year the foundation was laid for the overthrow of
federal power in the United States.
In no section of the country was there more political excitement than
in New-York. Parties were nearly balanced. There were only two banks
in the city; the Bank of New-York, and the branch of the United States
Bank. They were charged with being influenced in their discounts by
political considerations. At all events, they were under the
management and control of federalists; and to counteract their alleged
influence, Colonel Burr was anxious for the establishment of a
democratic institution. With this view he proposed to obtain a charter
for supplying the city with water; and as it was certain that if
confined to that particular object the stock would not be subscribed,
he caused the application to be made for two millions of dollars, and
inserted a clause in that charter, that the "surplus capital might be
employed in any way not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of
the United States or of the State of New-York.
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