{"value"=>"<p>The bulk of the speeches, which are arranged chronologically, reflect William's' views on national, state and local politics. The earliest speech (1842), a eulogy on the death of William Henry Harrison, was delivered to the Young Men's Association of Buffalo. In a speech (1859) to the \"Republican City Convention\" during a local ward election in New York City he urged the nomination of Solomon L. Hull over that of E. Delafield Smith. During the New York State gubernatorial campaign of 1862 he made several speeches in support of the Republican Party candidate, James Samuel Wadsworth, in which he defended Lincoln's conduct of the war and excoriated the State's Democratic Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Horatio Seymour. He also spoke on the New York City Draft Riots, and the problem of political corruption during the war. Included is a lengthy transcript of his testimony before the Railroad Committee of the New York State Assembly regarding approval of a franchise to run cars on the 3rd Avenue rails (the \"Bull's Head\" line).</p> <p>The writings include manuscript drafts on the law of bankruptcy prepared for the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate; a memorandum on lawyers practicing in Erie County in 1840; commentaries on good works, and on spiritualism and the New Church.</p> <p>The personal miscellany consists of notes on places visited in Paris during Williams' European trip (1857); miscellaneous notes on religion; notes of his seances with a spiritualist medium who supposedly placed him in communication with a deceased sister; spirit writings by the medium; three cabinet photographs and a tintype of unidentified family members; and miscellaneous papers.</p>"}