Charges made against him were, after full examination, found to be groundless, and his character as a wise and able representative of this nation was fully sustained.

In 1874 he resigned his diplomotic position and returned to America during the following year. In

1876 he delivered before the New Y'ork Historical Society the Centennial Oration in commemoration of the battle of Harleni Plains, and, at the request of the same society, prepared a tribute to the memory of John Lothrop Motley, his predecessor at Vienna, a paper which excited considerable controversy. In

1877 he was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury chairman of a committee to investigate the affaire of the New Y'ork Custom House ; -- and his re-

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

port led to many changes and reforms in that branch of the national service. During the same year he was iigain elected president of the Union League, and upon his declining a re-nomination, in 1878, he was succeeded by George Cabot Ward.

In January and February, 187S, he took an active part in opposing the ill-advised attempt of the city officials to erect an armory for the National Guard in Washington Square, and, in company with many of the best citizens, deemed it of importance that the few breathing-places in the crowded portions of the city should not be diminished.

With a deep interest in the welfare of that portion of Westchester County which had been the home of his ancestors, as well as his own, he was prominent in the formation of a society for village improvement, known as the Katonah Association, which has been of great and lasting benefit in elevating the taste of the community.