The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-06-17

| for my nomination. as | did not desire it.
This was never concealed from any one.
l do not recoIlect that Governor Drew
ever said to me that if l desired the NOM
| inatiOn he would not allow his name to
/ be used. His actions then and feelings
/ personal sacrifice. If he made such Of
! fer and I actually desired the nomina-
/ ton, why was his offer not accepted?
/ Governor Drew, continuing, says:
/ The matter appeared so wholly strange
that my friends determined upon having
an explicit understanding with Mr.. Blox-
! ham. They met here in Jacksonville
| and invited Mr.. Bloxham to meet with
/ them. Among my friends present at
| that interview were Gen. Jesse J. Fin
ley, Hon. P. P. Bishop, Capt. j. L. In
! glis and others. Mr. BlOxham came, and
| some of his personal friends Were present
/ beside, and, after full consultation, Mr..
| Bloxham promised that he would publish
a card in the Union, positively refusing
! the use of his name in the convention,
| or, if upon more mature consideration he
/ thought it a better way, he would give
/ Hon. George P. Raney a letter to that
! effect, at Tallahassee, to be carried to
! Gainesville and read to the convention.
! Mr.. Raney was the recognized leader of
my friends in the convention. This oc-
| CURED three or four days before the
nominating convention at Gainesville"
A more incorrect statement could not
be made. The truth is as follows: Not
desiring the nomination myself, and
feeling that Governor Drew was not the
man to run, | went to him as a friend
and advised him to abandon the idea. [
urged upon him that he had the honors.
he did not require the emOluments, and
IT he became a candidate he would be
subjected to a great deal of personal
| abuse. l offered then and there to sign
an agreement with him that our names
should not go before the convention. He
seemed to take rather favorably to the
suggestion. We went so far as to dis
ONt1'
didate. Governor Drew stated that he
would go to Jacksonville, and that if he
still thought favOrably of the idea he
would telegraph me to come there. He
went, and telegraphed me to come.
received no invitation, as he states in the
above extract, from any Of his friends to
meet them there. | had no conference
there with Governor Drew at which
either General Finley or Captain fnglis
was present. Mr.. Bishop and myself
held in Mr.. Bishops room a conference.
Mr.. Bishops idea was that Gov. Drew
should remain in the field and be nomi-
mated This was a surprise to me in
view of what had taken place between
Governor Drew and myself at Tallahas-
see, as just stated. l told Mr. Bishop, as
I had often told others, that | was not a
candidate, and did not desire to be.
Seeing that the purpose for which I
had come to Jacksonville had failed, or.
at least, did not seem to be contemplated
by Governor Drew's friend, the confer
ence was closed, and left the city and
! crossed the river, and spent the after
noon and night with Judge Van Valken-
burg.
Upon my return to the city next morn
ing, l was astOnished to learn from
prominent citizens that Governor Drew
had stated that he would not support me
if were nominated. Finding that Gov.
Drew was thus, after my effolt to avoid,
by securing the nomination of a third
party, any unpleasantness between us.
! or our friends, making wa" upon me, |
felt | was no longer called upon to re-
fuse to yield to the desire entertained by
a majority of the democratic party for
my nomination, and | determined to let
the matter take its course. without max
ing, on my part, any effort in the premi-
| ses. And, if my memory is not very
much at fault. Governor Drew in card
published in the Jacksonville Union. a
day or two before the convention. de-
clared that, unless it was the real desire
of the democrat c party that he should
receive the nomination, he did not wish
to be considered as seeking it.
| regret very much that Governor
Drew has forced me to make this appear
ance in public print. Ihad rested under the
belief that he entertained no such feel
ing against me as would permit the at
tack he has made. He says he supported
me as the nominee of the democratic
/ party in 1880. He makes no charge per
sOnal to himself which does not antedate
/ that support. He complains that l have
1 declared that was not a candidate for
nomination by the Pensacola convention.
/ have so declared, and it is true. l am
not vain enough to assume that am a
necessity to the democratic party. I
shall give my unqualified support to
/ whOmsoever the party Ito which [ have
I given the best services of my life, how
/ ever light they may weigh il comparison
with those of others) maynominate as its