Abraham Lincoln Papers: Incoming and Contextual Documents Document mal0465900

From Worthington G. Snethen to Abraham Lincoln, November 26, 1860

Baltimore

26th Nov. '60

Dear Sir:

Since the issue of our Manifesto, a copy of which I sent you, endorsing every word of it, we have been making progress in getting up a Republican paper in Baltimore, with a capital of Fifty Thousand Dollars. I have been invited to take charge of it, as its sole Editor. The Manifesto is the from the pen of Judge Marshall, and was unanimously adopted.

You have noticed, perhaps, the absence of Montgomery Blair's name from it, though he was an electoral candidate. The reason is - he is not with the Republicans of Maryland, in their policy of building up the party and str striving for political ascendancy. He was invited to be present, and the objects were stated, but he did not come. But the whereabouts of the Blairs have long been known to us. They opposed our running any Repub. ticket at all in this State. Nothing but the firmness of Judge Marshall defeated them. They were for fusing with Bell men, on condition of the Bell men in Pennsylvania fusing with us.

The Blairs, I have from the best authority, favor a de-republicanizing of the party, and a coalition administration, which the Republicans of Md. are utterly opposed to. The President of the Reading Rail Road in Pa., a gentleman of the same way of thinking, says, that they want intend to press Montgomery Blair for the Attorney General and Bates for the State Department, that they will agree to two of the Cabinet to come from the free States, that they must be moderate men, men of the Ewing and Corwin stamp, and that three must come from the South - in order to save the Union!! These three, they indicate as Bell, Goggin and Jenkins of Ga. or Botts, Etheridge and Theodore Hunt of La!! Davis, they say, is out of the question, because he is has twice been clearly defeted defeated by the late elections!

That the Blairs should be in favor of such a scheme, does not surprise us at all in this State, because it is well known, that their Republicanism means hostility to Democracy.

A Palmetto flag was hoisted in this city today by an Irishman; but was pulled down tonight by the indignant natives. The Breckenridge and their fusion allies, the Bell men, are disposed to use this Secession movement for partisan purposes. A call of the Legislature of our State, is urged urged, for the real purpose of presenting to the new administration an undivided front, unless it will buy them up Gov. Hicks & his party, with the patronage of this State. Winter Davis has recently bought up the control of the “Clipper,” in which he has attacked, by an editorial from his pen, the Republican manifesto, and threatens the new President with the opposition of the Breckenridge and Bell and Douglas parties, if he attempts to carry out a Republican administration! - So that he has now two organs, the “Patriot” being the other, which Mr Evans, who is a Republican, is trying to sell, in order to get his property out of his opponents' hands.

The flare up in St. Mary's County in this State, last week, in favor of a meeting of the Legislature, was gotten up to order.

Every hour's events in the S. Carolina, assure me, that firmness, unyielding firmness, on the part of the new President, and the inauguration of a Republican administration, in personnel as well as in policy, will not only quiet that fussy little oligarchy, but bring the croaking conservative coalitionists to their senses. Secession is revolution, and if it should cross the orbit of the Federal government, of a necessity, one of the two must go to the wall. The integrity of the confederacy must be preserved, or the consequences will indeed be disastrous. On a call from the new President to upon Maryland, to free S. Carolina from the grasp of the men who are seeking to destroy her, I have no doubt, that the old Maryland line will respond as in the days, when they were summoned to drive out Clinton from Charleston. If Buchanan shall not prove to be a sympathizer with the traitors, all will come right at an early day. If he does, we shall have more to do - that's all. The idea of the N. York Tribune, that the U. States should yield to secession peacefully, I suppose, is all for Buncombe.

Should the new President go into any of the slave states for any of his advisers, the Republicans of Maryland, in presenting to his consideration the name of Judge Marshall, are mainly influenced by the facts, not only of his eminent personal ability, but also of his stern, staunch, unflinching Republicanism, and of his family standing. He is not only the nephew of Chief Justice Marshall, but married a daughter of Major Henry Lee of Virginia, and is allied to the families of the Carters, the Masons and others of that their ilk. His firmness is one of his great virtues, and is no light virtue in these days of treason to principle. His address, which I sent you, will show you, how he handles the great, living subject of American politics. I know no man in all the South, whose name would carry with it a greater tower of strength, than Judge Marshall's, backed as it is wit by an im intellectual power and soundness of judgment, inferior to those of none of his contemporaries. He is the son of Dr Marshall of Kentucky, still living, and the brother of E. Marshall, late M. C. from California, and of that important and brilliant light, Tom Marshall.

I learn from family gossip, for he and I married cousins, that Gov. Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia, is not only prepared to give your administration a liberal support, if it should prove what he he believes it will be, but, it may be, to change his political relations. Stephens and he have gone against the secessionists with great vigor. So has Curry M. C. from Ala. - he who made such a fire-eating speech last winter.

The Republicans of Md. hold in the highest esteem, Galusha A. Grow of our neighboring State, and not only for his statesmanship, but for his readiness to repel the aggressions of the fire-eaters, when he saluted Mr Keitt so effectually, that Keitt pretended not to know the fact. Cameron and Stevens (Thad.), we all know to be useful men, but they do not hold such a high position for inexpugnable probity as Grow does.

Our sympathies and our prayers and our right arms, are with you, in entering upon the mighty repsonsibilities of the Presidency, and if we can be permitted to lend you our feeble assistance, in the least thing, we shall esteem it a fortunate privilege.

Very Truly

Your friend & St.

W. G. Snethen