sor to
Hamilton Fish, whose term as United States senator expired on the 4th
of March. Fish had not been a conspicuous member of the Senate; but
his great wisdom brought him large influence at a time when slavery
strained the courtesy of that body. He was of a most gracious and
sweet nature, and, although he never flinched from uttering or
maintaining his opinions, he was a lover and maker of peace. In his
_Autobiography of Seventy Years_, Senator Hoar speaks of him as the
only man of high character and great ability among the leaders of the
Republican party, except President Grant, who retained the friendship
of Roscoe Conkling.

The contest over the senatorship brought into notice a disposition
among Republicans of Democratic antecedents not to act in perfect
accord with Thurlow Weed, a danger that leading Whigs had anticipated
at the formation of the party. Weed's management had been disliked by
anti-slavery Democrats as much as it had been distrusted by a portion
of the Whig party, and, although political associations now brought
them under one roof, they did not accept him as a guiding or
controlling spirit. This disposition manifested itself at the state
convention in the preceding September; and to allay any bitterness of
feeling which the nomination of John A. King might occasion, it was
provided that, in the event of success, the senator should be of
Democratic antecedents. The finger of fate then pointed to Preston
King. He had resisted the aggressions of the slave power, and in the
formation of the Republican party his fearless fidelity to its
cornerstone principle made him doubly welcome in council; but when
the Legislature met, other aspirants appeared, prominent among whom
were Ward Hunt, James S. Wadsworth, and David Dudley Field.

Hunt, who was destined to occupy a place on the Court of Appeals, and,
subsequently, on the Supreme Court of the United States, had taken
little interest in politics. He belonged to the Democratic party, and,
in 1839, had served one term in the Assembly; but his consistent
devotion to Free-soilism, and his just and almost prescient
appreciation of the true principles of the Republican party, gave him
great prominence in the ranks of the young organisation and created a
strong desire to send him to the United States Senate. Hunt was
anxious and Wadsworth active. The latter's supporters, standing for
him as their candidate for governor, had forced the agreement of the
year bef