The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-04-09
years. Under Van BhFen he was
postmaster OF Hartford and IN Iof-

60 elected State Comptroller. By |
polk he was appointed a bureau chlef
in the Navy tr,ent and served
until IS49. With the rise OF the siaV-
ery agitation In relation to the terri
tories. Mr.. Welies. who was a States
rights Democrat. Of the old school,. be-
came dissatisfied with the course or
the party and. upon the appearance
OF the Republican party. joined It's
ranks. In 1856 he was the candidate
Of tina party for Governor OF Con-
necticut when he was certain OF de-
feat. He was a delegate from his
State to the Republican conventions
in 1856 and 1860. His record brought
him to the attention Of Lincoln. who
wished to appoint a member OF has
Cabinet from New England and who
found in Weiles's career evidences OF
the type Of character he desired. Why
he WAS given the Navy Department Is
not known. but it never occurred 10
Welles TO ask the question. Indeed
it is highly amusing to notice his re-
marks about certain public men VINO
had never had any previous knowl-
edge of their work. OF Chase, for ex-
ample. he said that tho he had "a
good deal Of ability" he had never
| made finance his study But he de-
voted himself to studying the prob
| lens of his position. and more ana
more it is recognized that his success
was great. He soon had a strong
| grasp upon the affairs Of the
ment and conducted it in a names
that is deserving OF the highest
praise. His ability ito men
stood him IN good stead. and in this
respect as in many others he in
strong contrast to his colleague Of the
War Department. How great the
problems Of his position really were.
is clearly revealed by the diary.
Naturally the chief interest and
value Of the work are to be found in
its pictures. some it must be said,
somewhat imp~ressioniStic. Of the men
with whom he came in contact. and
in his accounts of the relations exist
ing between them There is little new
knowledge Of events contributed. Mr..
Morse, In his admirable Introduction.
which is a marked feature of the
book. says. 1T settles few Of those
discussions to which the Civil War
ave rise. On the other hand. it pre-
sents an invaluable roy Of portraits;
SO that there are indeed no other rec
Ords which an at all be brought into
even remote comparison with it for
that interesting Period" 1t is re-
freshing to read the diary with its
frank estimates of character and per-
sOnality after some Of the volumes Of
'slush" which often masquerade rs
biography. Whether describing Vir-
tues or their lack. he was rather more
inclined to belittle than to magnify,
and in a time Of intensity like the
period Of Civil War and Reconstruc-
ton. il was q very good fault for al
annalist. Mo that Mr.. Welles was al
, ways mild and charitable: far from it
On the contrary he was inclined to
be censOrious. and for the dishonest
the selflshly ambitious. the incompe-
tent. he had no respect and records
the fact in no uncertain terms. But
to quote Mr.. Morse again. he was re
! markedly "even-minded" in his judg
ments and in consequence was betray.
ed into but few mistakes and non
that were humiliating. Here again n
} was in strong contrast to his col
leagues.
Besides pictures Of many parsonage
OF lesser note. we have in his page
rather exhaustive studies OF Seward
= Chase. Stanton. Grant. Mcclellan
Halieck. Sumner, Lincoln, and John
- son. For his three colleagues in tn
Cabinet mentioned, Welles had littl
liking n less respect. Their Jack 0
loyalty to their chief would alon
have been sufficient to produce thi
Result. but there were other powerful
' reasons in addition. The p%retense 4.
Seward outraged the honest soul Q
the staunch old Puritan Well<s. an
= the constant efforts of the Secretar
- of State to manage the affairs Of 9th
er departments than his own outras
ed Welles particularly when the Nav
Department was the recipient Of Sc
wards attentions. Speaking of him
he says e., p. 1869. a disposition t
constantly intermeddle with other de
, partments. TO pry into them and ofte
- to control and sometimes to counte
lr thra,ohor .etS, nno~,.SN
:: n others in difficulty" On accou1
- OF h BLOCKADE. II Navv nenartrneI
II was concerned Intimately in muc
that involved the relations Of tn
g United States with foreign nation
&c and in consequence there were mar
Ie differences Of opinion between tt
= tuyN {f ? 1~01,~I --1