Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-08-21

and | wanted the North to be united
also. ! was in communication with Mr..
Lincoln all tho time that tho Senatorial
contest was going on. lie and | agreed
that the only hope OF dealing success.
fully with the South and preserving the
Union was In united North. Most of
the Democrats were opposed to seces.
sion, but If we had not been very care.
ful we might have caused great many
people to declare openly in favor of the
South. AS it was, you see what was
done. Even Tammany Hall raised
regiment of Union soldiers
"llow did Mr.. Harris finally como TO
be nominated instead of either Evarts
or Greeley 2"
Here the Public Man is right and
Mr.. Hastings wrong. 1t was done at
the last moment. The Republican mem.
bers of the Legislature had been in eau
Gus for some lime. Mr.. Greeley's
friends were working very hard, and
We found it very difficult to advance
Mr.. Evarts interest. Mr.. Evarts, Gov
ernor Morgan and myself were in the
Executive Chamber, and Mr. Hastings
and Mr.. Littleiohn, the Speaker of the
Assembly, were coming in and going
out frequently, keeping us posted as to
what was going on. At last they came
in and said il was no use to try to hold
out any longer. as if they did Mr. Gree.
ley would surely be nominated. After
short consultation we agreed to com.
promise on Mr.. Harris. As soon rs the
word was given it carried the caucus,
only two members opposing. So YOU
see, Mr.. Eyarts was not slaughtered by
Secretary Seward. In fact Secretary
Seward was very anxious indeed To have
DIR. Eyarts sent to the Senate, and so
was Mr.. Lincoln. 1t is hard TO imagine
what might have been the result if we
had held out for Eyarts until Greeley
had got the nomination. might have
resulted individing the North and thus
making it much more difficult TO save
the Union than twas. But | have al.
ways believed that If we had put Gen.
Cook forward at the outset we could
have got him nominated and elected
over Mr.. Greeley"
"llow about that remark credited 10
you, that when asked whcthcryou knew
Harris personally, just AS the votes were
pilIng up for him, you replied, Il think
ought to; | invented him p
al remember making use of that ex.
preston some time" said Mr.. Weed,
laughing, "but | don't think it was at
that time. | might have made it with
reference to Mr.. Harris, but on some
other occasion. Mr.. Harris was mem.
Der of the firm of Harris < butcher, who
were considered to be very smart law.
yers, of the kind of Dobson Il Fogg in
Dickens work. During the antirent
times in Albany | wanted TO select
good smart lawyer for member of As.
sembly. mentioned it 10 two lawyers
and they both declined. Then Mr.
Harris otierrd himself, was accepted and
elected. lie made very good mem
her and in the following year he came
up for State Senator and was elected.
lie was subsequently elected TO the
bench OF the Supreme Court. Mr.. Hast
ings is wrong about his being elected to
the Court of Appeals, and If he was
ever on that bench it must have been
under the old constitution, when, /
think, the Court Of Appeals was consti.
tuted by judges selected from the Su.
preme Court bench. But that remark
OF mine about 'inventing' somebody-as
| come to think it over il seems TO me
| said it first in reference to President
Fillmore"
"What was the chief issue in the con.
test over Greeley and Egarts1"
why, we thought that Greeley was
too prominent as an aboliiionist, and
that 10 elect him TO the Senate at such
time, would only have a tendency to
incite the shareholders of the South to
more desperate measures. Mr. Greeley
belonged to the same class OF Republi.
cans as Sumner, Wade and Others then
in Congress, while Eysrts was ranked
with Seward and Republicans of that
stamp"
Mr. Weed said that the Senatorial
contest OF 1860 was one Of the most ex.
citing he had ever seen. lie was afraid
that If Horace Greeley was elected to
the United States Senate at such criti.
cal period it would have the effect TO
irritate and stir up the South and divide
the North at the same time. Mr. Gree.
ley's one great aim was to abolish slavery
first and take the consequences after.
wards. But the friends Of Mr.. Evarts
took the gound that il there was going
to be war the question Of slavery
would take care Of itself, as in fact II
did.