Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

1860-1861.] RECEPTION AT THE CITY HALL, NEW YORK. 385

"New York, March 13, 1861.
"GENTLEMEN,-I have the honor to acknowledge the communication
which you presented to me yesterday, signed by a large number of my
fellow-citizens, expressing their approbation of my official service in the
Treasury Department, and inviting me to accept a public dinner in this
city at some convenient time.
"I have no words to express my thankfulness for the honor intended
for me, or my gratification in being assured that my brief administration of
the financial department of the government has been deemed worthy of
the approbation of those whose interests are so intimately interwoven
with it. I am not conscious of having done any farther service than that
which every good citizen owes to his government, in laboring to uphold
its credit and its authority. That it has been rendered with earnestness,
and without regard to any other considerations than those which embraced in their scope the interests and the honor of the whole country, I
can sincerely say; and in your approval I see, not so much the merit
which you are pleased to ascribe to me, as your own devotion to the
Union and its precious institutions, baptized in the blood of our common
ancestors, and bequeathed to us as an inheritance to be maintained if necessary with our own. In its defence New York has in every emergency
borne a conspicuous part: in war, by sending her own citizens against
the common enemy, when the power of the General Government was inadequate to the public security; in seasons of financial embarrassment, by
pouring out her treasure to uphold the credit of the country, as her children have poured out their blood to uphold its honor. I need not say
that I regard the approbation of such a community as the highest testimonial it can give and the most valuable any man can receive. I shall
cherish the expression of confidence you have tendered to me as one of the
proudest recollections of my life, never forgetting that without your generous and disinterested support my own labors would have been fruitless.
"In conclusion, Gentlemen, I beg you to excuse me from accepting
the public dinner you have kindly tendered to me. You will, I know,
appreciate rmy motive when I ask quietly to allow me to return to my
domestic avocations. Residents of the same city, we shall often meet,
and never without a deep sense on my part of your generous confidence
and kindness.
"I am, with the sincerest respect and regard, your obedient servant,
"JOHN A. Dix."
Although the public dinner was declined, he accepted an
invitation from the Mayor and Common Council to a reception at the City Hall, "for the purpose of affording the citiI.-25