y of Ohio had three times conferred upon me this
high and much coveted honor, I ought not to stand in the way of
others who might fairly aspire to that position. I am of the same
opinion now. During the recent canvass I stated to several gentlemen
who had been named in the public press as probable candidates, that
I would not be a candidate, and I could not now recede from that
position without just reproach.

"Please say so to your fellow members, and accept my hearty thanks
for your partiality.

"Very truly yours,
"John Sherman.
"Hon. L. M. Dayton, Cincinnati, Ohio."

I also wrote the following letter to Senator A. B. Cole, of
Portsmouth, in reply to a similar offer:

"Washington, D. C., November 11, 1879.
"My Dear Sir:--Your very kind letter of the 10th inst. is received.
I thank you again for your offer to support me for the Senate, but
you will have seen from the letter I wrote to Colonel Dayton, that
I have determined, under the circumstances stated therein, not to
be a candidate, so that members may feel entirely free to follow
their judgment in the selection of the Senator. I must be impartial
between the several candidates.

"I thank you also for what you say about the nomination for the
presidency. Such a nomination would be a very exalted honor, so
much so that I ought not to do anything to promote or to defeat
it. I would be very glad to get the hearty cordial support of the
Ohio delegation, and that being granted I am perfectly willing to
abide the decision of the national convention, and will be ready
to support anyone who is nominated.

"I should be glad to see your son, and hope you will give him a
letter of introduction to me.

"Very truly yours,
"John Sherman.
"Hon. A. B. Cole, Portsmouth, Ohio."

Cornell was elected Governor of New York, and with him a Republican
legislature. The elections generally that fall were in favor of
the Republican party, but, as both Houses of the 46th Congress were
Democratic, President Hayes had to conduct executive business with
a Congress not in political harmony with him until the 4th of March,
1881, when the term of Congress and of the President expired. I
feel bound to say that no merely obstructive financial measures
were adopted during that Congress.

The message of the President, communicated to Congress on the 1st
of December, 1879, dealt with the usual topics of such a document;
but, instead of commencing with our foreign relation