"P. O. DEPARTMENT, APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 17, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-Your private letter of the 14th inst. came duly to hand. . . . I inclose, for your private eye and that of any of our friends, the copy of a letter I was addressing to General Cass at the very moment I heard of his resignation. I therefore sent it to Judge Black. You may think it injudicious, but I am determined to sustain the Union until not a hope for its continuance remains. "The papers state the main reason of General Cass's resignation, but I know that he has long felt as I have about the course of the Constitution newspaper. "GEN. DIX, New York." "Very respectfully and truly, "HORATIO KING. "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 18, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-I have read your address with great pleasure. It is cheering to read such a paper in the midst of the infamous articles and speeches of treason that have of late been so common. The Intelligencer of to-day has a stinging article, which I wish you would read. Let all traitors be shown up, and the solid people will assign them to their proper places. Don't let us permit their conduct to be so far winked at even as to afford a shield to black Republicans who are the original aggressors. "Very respectfully and truly, "HON. J. A. Dix, New York." "HORATIO KING. "NEW YORK, 19 Dec., 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,—I thank you for your excellent letter to Judge Black. I am as much disgusted as you are at the encouragement given to the secessionists. I am for making all reasonable concessions. . . . But the Government should quietly and firmly maintain the central authority. ... "I am glad you like the address. I have written to leading Southern men-some of them secessionists-against the right of secession, and especially against an attempt to break up the Union on the grounds assumed by South Carolina. But in a fraternal appeal intended to gain time for readjusting existing differences, I thought it not wise to introduce any topic on which our Southern brethren are sensitive. "I am very truly yours, ... "HON. HORATIO KING." "JOHN A. DIX. "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 20, 1860. "DEAR SIR,-Yours of the 18th inst. is received. I have not had time to read the proceedings or address of the solid men of Boston, but have heard it spoken of with great satisfaction. "I think the disunionists are not having everything quite so much their own way as at first. The true friends of the country are beginning more generally to denounce the disunion Constitution, and to protest against disunionists being retained in office. "To show you how I feel, I inclose the copy of a letter which I had nearly finished and intended to send to General Cass when I heard of his resignation, so I addressed it to Judge Black. It is for the private eye of friends only, of course. "NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ." "Very truly, 66 'HORATIO KING. "(CONFIDENTIAL.) "P. O. DEPT., Dec. 28, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-I feel as though we were on the verge of civil war, and I should not be surprised if this city is under the military control of the disunionists in less than one month! There can be no doubt that the Cabinet is divided, and rumor has it that the sympathies of the President, as well as of Mr. Toucey, are with the disunionists in reference to the question of sustaining Major Anderson! Holt, Black, and Stanton are firm for the Union, there can be no doubt. "Is there no way to bring a healthful influence to bear on the President and Governor Toucey? Northern men all seem to be dumb and paralyzed! "In haste, yours truly, 66 "NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ." "(PRIVATE.) "NEW YORK, 29 Dec., 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-Yours is received. I see fully, without any power to prevent it, the danger in which the country is placed. I have had little faith in the conciliatory action of the Republicans in Congress, though I know there are some who think rightly. It was for this reason that I moved, in conjunction with others here, in favor of a strong appeal to our Southern friends in the States on the Gulf of Mexico and the lower Mississippi to await the issue of the change which is going on in public opinion in the North. Our appeal is to go to the Southern conventions about to assemble in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. There seems but little prospect that any good will be accomplished. At Washington I fear I can do nothing. I have written to several leading Southern men, but I get no response. There is a determination on the part of leading Republicans here that a conciliatory course shall be pursued, and that reasonable compromises shall be made. It remains to be seen whether they can influence the action of their friends in Congress. "Major Anderson, who was my lieutenant when I was a captain in the army, I have no doubt acted as any military man responsible for the lives of those under his command would have done. His conduct is approved here by all parties, even by the warmest advocates of Southern rights. "My great fear is that the masses, North and South, who have been indoctrinated into secession views on the one hand, and abolitionism on the other, will not follow their leaders in a retrograde movement. But I have less anxiety for the North than for the South. We can make things right here if we can have time. . . . ... "I am, dear sir, "HON. HORATIO KING." "Yours truly, JOHN A. Dix. "WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-I rejoice to learn that the disunionists failed yesterday in their impudent and insulting demand that the administration should remove Major Anderson or otherwise degrade him. "It is every day becoming more and more apparent that they are determined, as far as lies in their power, to make use of the administration to strengthen themselves in their rebellious position, and, if necessary for their purpose, to break up the Government. Does it require any close discernment to see that it would be fatal to follow their counsels? "They commenced, long before the election, by getting possession of the Constitution newspaper, which, from the announcement of Lincoln's election, has been openly for a dissolution of the Union, and some of them have continued, and still continue, to hold office here in the Government, although known to be hostile to that very Government which feeds them! "In a letter to the President on the 7th of November,-the day after election,-I called attention to these startling facts; and, from that day to the present, my amazement has increased until I am, at times, almost paralyzed to see such things go unrebuked. It is all folly for the editor of that paper to issue his pronunciamentoes that he alone is responsible ... so long as it is supported and kept alive by Government advertisements which it receives solely through the favor of the administration, for it is not entitled to them by law. Has not this fact been overlooked in the pressure of the great troubles now threatening our destruction? "The question now is union or disunion. An article in that paper today advises that Lincoln's inauguration be prevented by armed force! Can the Government give such a paper patronage and escape the charge of treason? We must now take sides either for or against the continuance of the Union; and the sooner we know where we stand the better. "I wrote you yesterday hastily what I regard as the clear duty of the Government in reference to Major Anderson, and I am confirmed in my opinions by everybody to whom I have spoken since, as well as by the press, several extracts of which I beg to inclose for your perusal. "The duty of the administration, it seems to me, is very plain. It is simply to see that the laws are executed, thus maintaining, with a firm hand, the integrity of the Union. In this, rest assured, every friend of the Union will sustain you. "MY DEAR SIR,-I am rejoiced to hear you express yourself as you do in regard to sustaining Major Anderson. But I greatly fear the Cabinet now in session may take some action against him, although if he is not sustained, you may expect to see the resignations of Black, Holt, and Stanton. The most intense excitement is felt here on the subject, and disunion men are raising heaven and earth to get the President to degrade Major Anderson. To-day we have a most unpleasant rumor that Floyd is to go back into the Cabinet. If this rumor is true, all is lost! It is known that he sent a most savage message of inquiry to Major Anderson; but the answer he got in return had the true ring to it of the Veni, vidi, vici stamp. "It is said there is a secret society forming here to prevent Lincoln's inauguration! "HON. JOHN A. DIX, New York." (PRIVATE.) "Very truly, "HORATIO KING. "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 31, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,-In answer to your note of the 29th inst., I am sorry to say that I cannot give any assurance that the 'Jackson policy' in the present crisis will be pursued. Up to this time (12 M.), however, I believe no order has been made against Major Anderson, except that the Secretary of War (since resigned, thank God !) sent him a savage despatch, inquiring why he removed his command. But this was not sustained by the majority of the Cabinet, and he got a regular soldier's answer back, full of true metal. The Cabinet is now in session on this subject, and the most intense interest is felt here for fear that Major Anderson will not be sustained. "The President is borne down by the disunionists, and, as well as Governor Toucey, needs support from all true friends of the Union. Pray, see that letters are poured in upon them. On Saturday, however, Governor Toucey was right, and I cannot think it possible that he will flinch. General Scott, I fear, does not have the influence he should in the counsel touching his command. . . . ... "Very respect❜ly and truly, "NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., Boston, Mass." "HORATIO KING. "BINGHAMTON, Dec. 31, 1860. "MY DEAR SIR,- I am filled with anxious solicitude for the fate of our country. May God avert the threatened evil! "Sincerely yours, "D. S. DICKINSON. "HON. H. KING, 1st Asst. P. M. Gen'l," "(CONFIDENTIAL.) "P. O. DEPT., Appt. Office, Jan. 3, 1861. "MY DEAR GENERAL,-. . . Things are being brought to a point here, I think. I understand the 'Commissioners' (from South Carolina) sent an insulting communication to the President, and that he sent it back to them. We shall soon know who is for and who against the Union. At present we know not whom to trust. "Very truly, "HORATIO KING. GEN. DIX, New York. "P.S.-That was most infamous business of Floyd at Pittsburgh. One of the 'forts' for which guns were intended is a bare sand-bar, and the other has been just commenced, having a wall about two or three feet high. He and Cobb are both traitors. Floyd's orders will be countermanded." "(PRIVATE.) "NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 1861. "MY DEAR SIR,-I have been so pressed with outside business during the last ten days (trying to save the Union) that I have been unable to write to you. "The first time we began to breathe freely was when Mr. Holt took Governor Floyd's place in the War Department. The feeling here is |