118th New York State Legislature
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The 118th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 16, 1895, during the first year of Levi P. Morton's
governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, in Albany.


Background

Under the provisions of the
New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...
of 1846, 32 Senators and 128 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. The senatorial districts were made up of entire counties, except New York County (nine districts), Kings County (five districts) and Erie County (two districts). The Assembly districts were made up of entire towns, or city wards, forming a contiguous area, all within the same county. A Constitutional Convention met at the State Capitol in Albany from May 8 to September 29, 1894. The new Constitution was submitted to the electorate for ratification at the state election on November 6. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Two Democratic anti-machine factions (the "Democratic Reform Organization" in Brooklyn, and the "Empire State Democracy" in New York City), the Prohibition Party, the
Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
and the People's Party also nominated tickets.


Elections

The New York state election, 1894 was held on November 6. Ex-U.S. Vice President Levi P. Morton was elected Governor; and President pro tempore of the State Senate Charles T. Saxton was elected Lieutenant Governor (both Rep.). The only other statewide elective offices up for election was also carried by a Republican. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republican 674,000; Democratic/Empire State 518,000; Democratic Reform 27,000; Prohibition 24,000; Socialist Labor 16,000; and People's Party 11,000. Besides, the new Constitution was adopted by the voters, and took effect on January 1, 1895. The new Constitution moved the day for the first meeting of the Legislature from the first Tuesday in January to the first Wednesday, and the 118th Legislature convened on Wednesday, January 2, 1895.


Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 2, 1895; and adjourned on May 16.
Hamilton Fish II Hamilton Fish II (April 17, 1849 – January 15, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life Fish was born in Albany, N ...
(Rep.) was elected
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...
against Samuel J. Foley (Dem.).
Edmund O'Connor Edmund O'Connor (November 1848 near Mallow, County Cork, Ireland – July 15, 1898, Binghamton, Broome County, New York) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was President pro tempore of the New York State Senate in 1895. ...
(Rep.) was elected president pro tempore of the State Senate. On February 13, the Legislature elected Charles R. Skinner (Rep.) as Superintendent of Public Instruction, to succeed James F. Crooker for a term of three years. On May 14, Assemblyman Eugene F. Vacheron was indicted for asking for a
bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...
(a misdemeanor), and for accepting a bribe (a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
). He was accused of having received $3,000 to kill the "Hudson River Ice Bill" in the Assembly Committee on Internal Affairs. After many postponements the case was tried in December 1896 and Vacheron was acquitted.Vacheron pleaded not guilty, and did not resign his seat; see
''EUGENE VACHERON SURRENDERS''
in NYT on May 17, 1895. The trial occurred a year and a half after the session ended, and Vacheron had not been re-elected to the session of 1896. When he was convicted of
grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...
in 1912, ''The New York Times'' published a mistaken reminder of the case here
''EX-ASSEMBLYMAN CONVICTED''
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' on February 29, 1912


State Senate


Districts

Note: There are now 62 counties in the State of New York. The counties which are not mentioned in this list had not yet been established, or sufficiently organized, the area being included in one or more of the abovementioned counties.


Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.


Employees

* Clerk: John S. Kenyon * Assistant Clerk: Charles A. Ball * Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles V. Schram * Doorkeeper: Edward Dowling * Stenographer: Lucius A. Waldo * Journal Clerk: Lafayette B. Gleason * Postmaster: Stephen C. Green


State Assembly


Assemblymen

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued as members of this Legislature.


Employees

* Clerk:
Archie E. Baxter Archibald Easton Baxter (December 16, 1844 – October 6, 1925) was a Scottish-American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Baxter was born on December 16, 1844, in Port Glasgow, Scotland. In 1850, his father Duncan brought the family to ...
* Assistant Clerk: Haines D. Cunningham *Financial Clerk: William C. Stevens * Sergeant-at-Arms: Garret J. Benson * Doorkeeper:
Joseph Bauer Joseph Bauer (April 18, 1845 – October 12, 1938) was a German-American labor organizer and politician. Life Bauer was born on April 18, 1845, in the Grand Duchy of Baden. When he was seven, he immigrated with his parents to America, settling i ...
* Stenographer: Robert C. Chapin * Journal Clerk: Edward M. Johnson


Notes


Sources


''The New York Red Book''
compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; see pg. 385 for senate districts; pg. 404 for senators; pg. 410–417 for Assembly districts; and pg. 511f for assemblymen)
Sketches of the members of the Legislature
in ''The Evening Journal Almanac'' (1895; pg. 48–64)
''HAMILTON FISH SPEAKER''
in NYT on January 2, 1895
''NEW STATE LEGISLATURE''
in NYT on January 3, 1895 {{NYLegislatures
118 118 may refer to: *118 (number) *AD 118 *118 BC *118 (TV series) *118 (film) *118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment *118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers See also *11/8 (disambiguation) *Oganesson Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element wi ...
1895 in New York (state) 1895 U.S. legislative sessions