in various interests could not be made
without leaving a sense of discomfiture in many breasts.

These various elements of discontent and opposition clustered about
Secretary Chase, and found in him their natural leader. He was
the head of the radical forces in the Cabinet, as Mr. Seward was
the exponent of the conservative policy. He had been one of the
earliest and most zealous chiefs of the Free-soil party, and ranked
among the brightest stars in that small galaxy of anti-slavery
senators who bore so memorable a part in the Congressional struggles
before the war. He was justly distinguished as a political leader
and an able and a versatile statesman. For the part he was now
desired and expected to play he had a decided inclination and not
a few advantages. Keenly ambitious, he was justified by his talents,
however mistaken his time and his methods, in aspiring to the
highest place. His sympathies were well understood. By his
unconcealed views and his direct expressions he had encouraged the
movement against Mr. Lincoln. A year in advance of the Presidential
election he had announced his conviction that no President should
be re-elected, and had added the opinion that a man of different
qualities from those of Mr. Lincoln would be needed for the next
four years.

MR. CHASE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.

Apart from the influence of his known attitude and of his recognized
leadership, the opponents of Mr. Lincoln were naturally attracted
to Mr. Chase by the fact that he was at the head of the department
which was most potential in the distribution of patronage. If the
purpose was not avowed, the inference was suggested that no man
could do more to help himself. There had been sharp contention
over the important Treasury offices in New York, in which Mr. Chase
appeared on the one side and the rival influences in the Administration
on the other, and this contest was interpreted as a part of the
political and Presidential struggle. Mr. Chase having consented
to the use of his name as a candidate, his friends began active
work on his behalf. Early in the winter of 1863-64 what was known
as the "Pomeroy circular" was sent out, ostensibly as a confidential
paper, but promptly finding its way into print. It derived its
name from the Kansas senator who was prominent in the advocacy of
Mr. Chase's nomination. The circular represented that Mr. Lincoln's
re-election was imposs