Depew was one of the most prominent among the candidates pro})osed as his successor, but withdrew his name in the interests of harmony. He was appointed one of the regents of the university in' 1877, a position which he still retains. For several years he was vice-jtresident and general counsel for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, and is now (1886) president of the road, -- a position which furnishes ample scope for his abilities.

Among the prominent orators of the day, there are few who have been more frequently called upon to deliver addresses upon occasions of public importance. A speet'h delivered in the IjCgislature, in 1802, upon the subject of "State Finances" has been considered one of his best efforts, and attracted wide attention. On the 4tli of July, 1876, he delivered the centennial oration at Sing Sing, and made a brilliant address at Kingston on July 30, 1877, the anniversary of the formation of the State government. On September 23, 1880, he addressed a large assembly at Tarrytown, in commemoration of the capture of Major Andre, and he was the orator of the day upon the occasion of unveiling the statue of Alexander Hamilton, in Central Park. At the election of a United States Senator, in 1885, he was tendered the nomination by all divisions of the Republican party, but declined to be considered a candidate, and the choice fell upon Hon. William M. Evarts.

Upon his maternal side, Mr. Depew is connected with the family of the celebrated Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, his mother being a granddaughter of the sister of that illustrious statesman.