TILDEN TO HON. HAMILTON FISH
"New York, Dec. 29, 1871.
"My dear Sir,—The rush of events, in which I have been and am, has given me no opportunity earlier to acknowledge, as I intended to do, your note of congratulation and sympathy in respect to the recent municipal controversies. I beg you to believe that, among the many which events have brought to me, none is more appreciated than yours, not only because of the many years of personal friendship which have subsisted between us, but—and more—because I think it was prompted by your feelings as a citizen of this great metropolis, closely and long identified with its interests and its renown.
"Accept my thanks for the books you were kind enough to send me, and believe me,
"Very truly yours,
"S. J. Tilden."
CHARLES O'CONOR TO TILDEN
"Fort Washington, Dec. 22, 1871.
"Dear Sir,—I can do nothing in Wall St. So I mean, if possible, to stay here until the 26th inst. This will afford an opportunity to put some matters in shape for the operations required after Jany. 1.
"There will be such a pressure of the outs to get in, and of the jobbers to stick a project here and a plan there that no reform charter can possibly be framed and accepted on Gov. Church's instantaneous plan.
"A few very brief enactments can be framed which will meet every public necessity, and thro' a commission a really good charter may be framed. The lean corruptionists, who see a prospect of pasture, will, of course, try to control the appointment and the action of the commission, but the faces which have been set like flint against the fat sharpers must also present a stern front to the lean. If the Legislature is to fail in its duty, perhaps so much the better. What his lazy Majesty the People has long needed was a sharp prick of the corruptionist's spear. It may be that he is not yet sufficiently aroused. Fainting in the legislature may be an absolute necessity.