, payable quarterly. The stock
may be made payable at such periods as the Honorable the Legislature may
deem proper. This offer will, I trust, be considered as liberal, and as
a proof of my willingness to compromise on terms which are reasonable,
considering the value of the property, the price which it cost me, and
the inconvenience of having so long _lain out_ of my money, which, if
employed in commercial operations, would most likely have produced
better profits."
This offer was not accepted by the Legislature, and the cause was
delayed until 1827, when it was brought before the courts. It was argued
by such men as Daniel Webster and Martin Van Buren, on the part of the
State, and by Thomas Addis Emmett, Ogden, and others for Astor. The
State had no case, and the matter was decided in Astor's favor. Then the
State consented to compromise. The famous Astor stock, which paid that
gentleman about five hundred thousand dollars, was issued, and the
titles of the possessors of the lands confirmed.
The most important of all of Mr. Astor's undertakings was his effort at
founding the settlement of Astoria, on the coast of Oregon.
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