Washington, July 12,
1850. Friday morning.
MY DEAR SIR,—You
will hear various rumors respecting appointments to the Cabinet, but none of
them will deserve credit any further than they rest on general probability.
Nothing is decided as yet. The present Cabinet have all tendered their
resignations, but they will not be answered till after the funeral.
The three important
departments are State, Treasury, and Interior. I have no doubt some man known
to be thoroughly sound in revenue matters, will be appointed to the Treasury.
As to the State Department, I have no idea who will have it, although, if the
power were with me, I think I could find a man1 without going out of
Massachusetts, who has talent enough, and knowledge enough; but whether he is
at this moment so fresh in the minds of the people that his appointment would
strike the public mind favorably, may be a doubt. Nobody can well be Secretary
of State who has not fortune, unless he be a bachelor. The Secretary of State
is the head of the administration, and he must have a house, sometimes to
receive guests in. He is of course necessarily in daily communication with the
diplomatic corps, which I believe is twice as numerous now as it was twenty
years ago.
My dear Sir, you see
the spirit of good-will which is manifesting itself here. This is the golden
hour of opportunity, be assured. The opposition gentlemen are determined, all
the conservative part of them at least, to give the administration fair play;
and Mr. Fillmore is well-intentioned and discreet. He will meet with annoyances
from the rather overbearing spirit of a certain quarter, but I hope he will
stand stiff. If he is successful in forming his administration, I verily
believe a prospect is before us for a better state of things than we have
enjoyed for twenty years. Yours truly,
1 Mr. Everett.
SOURCE: Fletcher
Webster, Editor, The Private Correspondence of Daniel Webster, Vol.
2, p. 376-7
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