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

1845-1853.] UNDERTAKING A DIFFICULT WORK.

263

State could be reconciled. To use the words of the Hon.
Preston King, in a letter to General Dix, January 1, 1851, the
effort now was, "to consolidate all the sides of the real Democracy in a homogeneous party, friendly to freedom, in
New York," believing as they did that "no other kind of
party could live."
It must be admitted that the men had undertaken a very
difficult work. Prejudices were to be met, opposition was to
be overcome, both North and South. The question, of course,
was already complicated by personal considerations. The
South were divided on the subject of the most available candidate. Mr. Cass, Mr. Buchanan, and Mr. Dickinson, of the
Senate, had been mentioned; Colonel Benton, General Houston, and Mr. Woodbury. Of these men, it was certain that
Mr. Dickinson could not carry New York; that Colonel Benton could not carry the Southern vote; that the nomination
of General Houston was impossible: still, each of these men
was pressed by his friends. The impression among many
Southern Democrats was that New York was hopeless under
any circumstances, and that the best policy was to put the
Free-soilers of that State under the ban, and try to carry the
election without their help. Even among Southern men
favorable to freedom there was great doubt as to the course
to be pursued. One of them-a politician of great influence
and sagacity-wrote as follows to General Dix from his house
near Washington, March 21, 1851, presenting a dilemma, and
uncertain which horn to choose:
" In a letter in reply to - I gave my views at large as
to the course our Free-soil Democrats should take in the
present state of politics. I will try to find the copy, and
send it to you; I cannot now lay my hands on it. The conclusion I come to is this: that we must either run a Radical
Free-soil Democrat and nail his flag to our mast, and sink or
swim with it through our sea of troubles, or take some man
who can break up the Hunker coalition, and who, if elected,
must take our complexion from stress of circumstances. My