The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-07-10
THE HAMLlN CASE.
Nic0lay Answers McCIure's Last
Editorial.
SOME DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
Memorandum In LincoIn's Own Hand.
: Writing-rbe Pennsylvania Delegation
Disaffected Illinois Delegates.

WASHINGTON, July 9.-John G.. Nicolay
To-day addressed an opel letter to Colonel
Mcclure, editor of the Philadelphia Times,
replying to the latest editorial on the sub
lect Nicolay says, in part, he was at the
Ealtimore convention as spectator B.
c. Cook, chairman of the Illinois delega-
uon, had conversation with him about the
course OF certain disaffected leaders in
Illinois. That conversation Nicolay re-
ported to the President ia letter to Major
Hay, assistant private secretary. What he
mad heard had made Cook suspicious that
SWEET might be untrue to Lincoln. One.
OF the straws which led to this belief
was that Sweet had telegraphed to Balti-
more urging the Illinois delegation to go
for Holt Cook wanted to know confident
Tally whether in urging Holt for the vice
presidency, Sweet reflected the presidents
wishes; whether the President had any
preference, or whether be wished not even
to interfere by confidential indication.
Upon this letter President Lincoln made
the following Endorsement in his own
handwriting1 ''Sweet is unquestionabIy
all right. Mr.. Holt is a good man, out
had not hear or thought of him for Vice
President l wish not to interfere about
the Vice-President. / cannot interfere
about the platform; the convention must
Judge for itself"
This written evidence" says Nicolay,
cannot De turned In trying 10 evade its
force, you assert Lincoln called you to
Washington and urged the nomination of
johnson, and that you returned 10 Balti-
more to work and vote in obedience to that
request against your personal predelec-
tons The proceedings of the convention"
says Nlcolay, ''snow that you acted an en-
tlreiy minor part. Is il probable that LIN
coin, among all the other men in the Penn
sylvania delegation Simon Cameron,
Thaddeus Stevens. A II. Reeder, GaIusha
a. Grow and others, would have called
you alone TO receive his secret ilstructionss
IL IS matter of public history that Simon
Cameron was more prominent and efficient
than any other Pennsylvarian in the
movement IN that state to give Lin
coin second term, and that on the
18th OF January, ls64, transmitted to the
President the written request OF every
union member of the Pennsylvania legis-
Iature TO accept denomination. This and
MS subsequent open and unvarying report
left no doubt of Cameron's attitude. How
was it with youp
Nicolay then quotes a letter from Nc
Clure to President Lincoln, May 2, 1864,
protesting against the intimntiOn in one or
two papers that he (McClure) was not cor
daily in favor of Lincoln's nomination and
assuring him Of mis- cordial support, and
continues that ''this was only month be-
fore the convention and you felt called
upon to personally protest against the ac-
cusations of party disloyalty. But this is
not all When tie time came to make nom
nations for Vice President, Simon Came
ron, chairman of the Pennsylvania dalega-
ton and one of the earliest and most
persistent friends of Lincoln, himself
made the nomination of Hannibal Hamlin
for ce-President, while the whole vote
of Pennsylvania was on the first ballot cast
for Hamlin's denomination so also the
Illinois delegation cast its entire vote for
Hamlin on the first ballot. Does IL stand
to reson that Lincoln called upon you TO
desert Hamlin and nominate Johnson and
gave no intimation of this desire TO the
chairman of the Pennsylvania and Illinois
delegationsl Dare you venture the asser-
ton that Lincoln was deceiyiug Camerons
deceiving Cooks carrying on secret in
trigue against Hamlin, and another secret
intrigue against Holt, and that on top of
the whole he was writing deliberate lie
to us. That may be your conception Of
Arabian Lincoln, but it is not mine"