DEAR SIR: I received yours of the 12th inst. since which I have seen
Smith of the Sentinel. I told him I was surprised at the tone of the article
which referred to you. He said your friends secured the nomination of Wise, and
were to blame for his present prominent position in the party; that he (Smith)
had had his say, and at the proper time should take ground for you, in
preference to Wise. His feelings towards you arise from you beating Gov. Smith
for the Senate, not to anything else. To Wise he is opposed on both personal
and political grounds. Smith is sound with the administration, and particularly
with Gov. Floyd with whom he was particularly gracious last spring. I am told
Gov. Smith has not much influence with the administration which accounts for it.
R[ichard]. M. Smith is of the opinion that the weight of the national
administration will be thrown against you, and that your friends are marked.
Time, however, will show. Col. Phillips, 6th auditor, Brodhead 3d do.,
Streeter, Solicitor, and Anderson, Com[missioner] of Customs go out this month.
Cobb sent for Phillips yesterday to notify him.
I understand a nephew, or cousin of Gov. Wise, is an applicant for the
place made vacant by the resignation of Mr. Merrick. Mr. Montague's name has
also been mentioned. The latter gentleman is reliable and a warm friend of
yours. There is great dissatisfaction felt by the party at the course of the
administration relative to appointments. The rule seems to be to proscribe
the friends of the late administration; and reward knownothings if they
preferred Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Pierce. The Postmaster General and Secretary of
the Treasury are both known aspirants to the presidency, and I believe the
present incumbent has hope of a reelection. With such a state of things
existing, there will be trouble among them before the adjournment of the next
Congress.
The coalition between Wise, Floyd and Faulkner for the purpose of placing
Wise in your place, Faulkner in the gubernatorial chair, and Floyd in Senator
Mason's place at the close of this administration, would be capable of much
mischief. If they had confidence in each other; but I am told there is a
jealous feeling growing up among them, each one being afraid of the other's
cheating him.
I am told that Messrs. Bocock and Powell when here expressed the utmost
confidence in your triumphant reelection. Mr. Montague says the people are all
for you in his section; and R. M. Smith says the neighboring district will be
represented by men a large majority of whom are for you. How is it in the West?
It is said Rush Floyd cannot be elected without Whig votes, so that you may get
an opponent of the triumviate in place of Tate. As
Hopkins can have no reason to like the Floyds, I hope he will aid you.
SOURCE: Charles Henry Ambler, Editor, Annual Report of the
American Historical Association for the Year 1916, in Two Volumes, Vol. II,
Correspondence of Robert M. T. Hunter (1826-1876), pp. 230-1
No comments:
Post a Comment