"As his friend I would prefer to see him wait a time and mature more thoroughly his great powers in the school of experience. Still, he would now be a most acceptable President to all the people of the Southern States.
"My conviction remains unshaken that Mr. Tilden is the strongest man in N. Y.; that he is an honest Democrat from principle; that he acts squarely on his convictions in everything; that his record is one to inspire confidence in the people; that he will attack fraud and corruption wherever he meets them, without fear or hesitancy; and that his good sense, and the best interests of his own State, will lead him to give to the country with which the great commercial cities are so intimately associated in the means of prosperity, peace and protection, while it is working out with honest toil its redemption from poverty and distress. This is all we need. We do not wish the power that springs merely from the weight of numbers in the electoral colleges. We wish no offices, or, rather, we need none, and our wisest men will be glad if we get but few. Let us alone, and we will soon become richer than we have ever been.
"Genl. E. W. Peters, who is Col. Denison's law partner, is in our delegation, and will probably be our chairman. He is a hard-money Democrat, and is much impressed with the necessity of Mr. Tilden's nomination as a matter of success.
"Very truly yours,
"Jno. T. Morgan."
On the 28th of June the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis nominated Mr. Tilden for President.
The whole vote on the second ballot was 738; necessary to a choice, 492. Tilden had 535; Hendricks, of Indiana, 66; Allen, of Ohio, 54; Parker, of New Jersey, 18; Hancock, of Pennsylvania, 59; Bayard, of Delaware, 11; Thurman, of Ohio, 2. Indiana seconded Pennsylvania's motion to make Mr. Tilden's nomination unanimous, and it was adopted.
In the month of June, 1876, Governor Tilden received a note from a citizen of Minnesota complaining that he could get no evidence of any success achieved by the Governor in his war upon the Canal Ring, and that it was thrown in the face of the people out there that nothing had been accomplished. His letter concludes as follows: "Now, if ever I have seen any disposition of these cases of corruption it has escaped my memory, and to be prepared to answer our assailants on their only one point, with an earnest desire to convert them to Tilden and reform, is solely the object of my writing."
To this letter Tilden wrote the following reply, dated June 15, 1876: "Your letter of June 12th has been handed to me. In reply, I would like to state that it takes time to obtain the evidence and prepare the actions, civil and criminal, in such cases as those against the members of the Canal Ring. The machinery of justice under the State government has not the unity and efficiency that it has under the Federal government, where the district attorneys and marshals are appointed by the Chief Executive instead of being elected in their localities. On the whole, however, these cases have proceeded with more rapidity than could have been expected under the circumstances. You will have become, doubtless, aware before this reaches you that George D. Lord was convicted a few days since at Buffalo. The principal civil suit against Beldon, Denison & Co. is set down for trial on the 12th of July. The trial was put off for a few weeks by the court against the opposition of the Attorney-General. The most important thing, of course, was to break up the system, and that has been done. A secondary object is to deter from the commission of similar offences in future, and that work is going on satisfactorily."